


A Genius, His Cat, and Their Vet

by morphia, SmileDesu



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2013-08-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 20:41:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 53,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/614130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphia/pseuds/morphia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileDesu/pseuds/SmileDesu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veterinarian AU: Steve and Bucky used to be soldiers. They became veterinarians after a long treatment for PTSD at Rebecca Kaplan’s hands. One day a billionaire walks in in a mad dash, cradling a cat in need.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Boy and His Dog](https://archiveofourown.org/works/591135) by [morphia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphia/pseuds/morphia), [SmileDesu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileDesu/pseuds/SmileDesu). 



“You a vet?” A rushed, breathless voice asked following the quick bell chime that declared a customer had entered the small clinic. Steve raised his eyes from the medical magazine he was reading and paused, openly staring at who he immediately recognized to be- “Mr. Stark?” He heard his voice utter with bewilderment.

“Tony. Please just-” the man seemed on that side of distressed, “can you help this little fella?” And that was when Steve noticed the man was holding a bundle in his arms. It looked like an expensive jacket-turned-blanket. Steve slid right into his professional attitude. When there was a life on the line, wonder could wait.

“Right this way, tell me what happened.” Steve said in his most reassuring tone and led Tony toward the examination and surgery room. Tony seemed to relax a little when he realized Steve would help.

“I don’t really know, actually. I feed this little thing twice every day. Today he missed his second feeding so I went looking for him. He was lying under a bush…” Tony was telling the tale and Steve let himself take in the look of this man. His shoes were muddied, his pant and dress shirt torn in random places. Steve reached over gently to take the bundle off Tony’s hands. Tony hesitated but handed it over eventually.

“Does he have a name?” Steve asked in a non-assuming tone as he spread the jacket over the smooth surface of the examination table and exposed a young cat, barely a year old. His brows furrowed. Hydration, then painkillers, maybe full sedation so they could properly check him up. Tony said something but Steve missed it. “Beg your pardon?” He asked.

“I said his name is Peter.” Tony repeated, frowning for a moment as Steve poked and touched the shivering thing gently. “What’s he got, doc?” He asked, his tone pleading.

“He’s dehydrated, at the very least. Bucky, I’ll need a hand here.” Steve answered Tony, then talked into a small intercom that was set on the wall next to the table.  
“Right away, Cap.” A voice answered, and Steve sighed. He couldn’t get Bucky to stop calling him that, no matter how much he tried, even though he hadn’t been a captain in several years already. Bucky walked in the next moment and pointed a non-believing finger at Tony. “Is that-“

Tony tensed at that but Steve cut into Bucky’s speech before things got critical. “A customer. Yes. Peter the cat is down here.” Steve said, alerting Bucky to the presence of the now mewling creature on the table.

“Oh my, what happened to him?” Bucky walked over, pulling a pair of gloves on his hands. Tony stood back, watching them with little to no trust at all as they worked to save little Peter. A black street cat he’d started feeding a few months back.

-

“-And keep him warm.” Steve finished instructing as Bucky took the payment. “Come back in two days for check-up.” He requested, and Tony smiled weakly at him.

“Thanks doc, I will.” Tony said and held Peter closer. “Come on Pete, we’ll get you settled in the house while we’re at it. Pep can’t say no forever, can she?” And the door chimed closed.

“That was-“

“Mr. Tony stark, yes.” Steve said, moving back to the examination room for post-treatment cleanup and disinfection. “And his cat in need, Peter stark.” He added with a small smile. Who would’ve thought one of the strongest men in the world would have a weak spot for cats?


	2. Chapter 2

To be fair, Steve hadn’t expected to meet Tony again, but two days after the emergency treatment the man marched into the clinic with Peter in a new cat-basket. His smile blinding, his attire immaculate. “Dr. Rogers!” He said, beaming at him. “Look, Peter, it’s Dr. Rogers. Did you miss him?”

The cat-basket shook a bit, and Steve raised a brow. How in the world did Tony manage to put a nearly grown cat who spent most of his time out of doors into a basket? There was a growl and Tony raised the basket to let Steve look inside. Peter had a measuring look in his yellow eyes and Steve held his gaze. He inspected him as well as he could from this angle, assessing the cat’s condition before gesturing towards the examination room. “Come on, let’s see how you’re doing, little guy.” Steve said, gesturing for Tony to follow him. Steve closed all the doors because he knew cats tended to bolt for a quick escape if they had the chance, once removed from their basket.

Steve cleaned the examination table and took the basket from Tony’s hands. “Is he used to human touch?” he asked Tony absently as he placed the box on the table. Tony didn’t answer, so Steve looked up. “Tony?”

“What?” Tony seemed to be lost in thought, but he snapped out of it. “Oh, uh… He sometimes lets me pet him but… I don’t think so.” he shrugged, and Steve sighed. This would make his job harder, but he won’t know until he’s dragged the cat out.   
“Did you feed him yet, today?” he asked then, hoping for a ‘no’ but knowing better. 

“I had to get him in the box somehow…” Tony sounded apologetic, but Steve smiled.

“It’s ok. He won’t be able to resist the smell of this anyway.” he reassured, taking a small box out of the cabinet and using a plastic spoon to scoop some of the wet cat-food onto a small plastic plate. 

“Pep got really upset about the mess he did in the kitchen.” Tony commented idly, and Steve hummed, used to customers’ stories during treatment. The plate was set on the table and Peter seemed fairly interested in it, so Steve unhooked the closers and swung the small door open, allowing Peter out of the box. 

“There we go, good boy.” Steve praised, petting the cat as he devoured the cat-treat. He felt for any remaining aches, broken bones, it all checked clear. The food was gone, so Steve turned the cat’s face towards him. Nice dilation of the pupils, strength to the pull back. No remaining lethargy. Looked like the kitten made it. Steve smiled and tucked Peter back into the box, though there was admirable resistance. “He looks great.” He said, smiling at Tony, who seemed immensely relieved. 

“Oh thank God.” Tony said, and Steve was convinced the guy cared for the cat quite a bit.

“Thank his cat-sturdiness. Cats are very good at bouncing back from tough conditions, but you’ll need to keep an eye on him for a while. Are you planning to keep him?” Steve asked carefully. When Tony gave him an odd look, Steve explained. “We have medical records for any animal we treat, so I was wondering if you want him to have a medical record here. So we can keep track of vaccination and things of the sort.” 

“I’m keeping him.” Tony said, his tone growing distant again, and Steve wondered what that was about for a moment before Tony nodded his head. “definitely keeping him. Get that medical record going doc. And oh, is there anything specific he needs to get?” 

“Well…” Steve said, and the next half hour went by with a full explanation of all the things the cat would need to go through. Steve suggested fixing him, but Tony said he’d have to think about it, and after the card was filled, he left with the box in hand.   
Steve spent an unknown amount of time staring at the card in his hand. “Peter Stark, black short-hair, yellow eyes. Approx. 10 months old. Contacts: Mr Anthony Stark, phone number…” 

“What’s up Cap?” Bucky asked as he walked into the clinic, carrying armfuls of stock. “ooh a new customer?” he asked, peering over the reception desk to look at the card. He almost lost his balance there for a moment as he pulled back. “Stark? He’s really becoming a regular, then?” Bucky sounded bewildered to say the least.

“Stop calling me ‘cap’, Bucky, people will start asking questions.” Steve said with an exasperated smile, pulling the card-box out of the drawer and setting the card into place. “It doesn’t matter what his name is. He’s a customer and you better be nice even if he comes in when I’m not around.” Steve cautioned, and Bucky made a move to salute, but given that he had too many things in his arms, he simply bowed his head.

“Aye cap.” he said with a teasing tone and hurried to the storage room. 

—

It became a routine. Apparently Tony had never had a pet before, and a male cat was generally a more troublesome charge, so every small issue earned a phone call or a visit from Tony. Pep, or as Steve later learned, Miss Pepper Potts, was Tony’s Private Assistant, and she wanted nothing to do with the cat, so the responsibility fell on Tony, who seemed to have as little knowledge in the field of animal care as he did with human communication. Every three weeks, Tony’d come in to give Peter his monthly anti-fleas treatment. Sometimes Bucky would be there, and sometimes Steve.

One time, Tony called the clinic in a panic, asking if it’s normal for cats to eat fabric, and Steve had to exert self control to not chuckle. He smiled instead and assured Tony it would be ok, but that he should make sure Peter didn’t eat too much material that is not food. The next time Tony came for a visit, Steve handed him a tube of some kind of medication made of maple syrup that was supposed to help Peter’s digestive system. 

Things were quiet, and Tony’s visits became more and more a pleasant constant in the two veterinarians’ lives. One day, after tucking Peter back in his box, Tony stalled at the counter, looking contemplative. He gave the clinic a once-over and then glanced at Steve. “Say.” 

“Mm?” Steve uttered, detailing the proceedings of the day’s meeting, vaccination and general checkup, in Peter’s card. 

“This place. It’s a bit uh… small, isn’t it?” Tony sounded tentative, and Steve glanced up at him with uncertainty written on his face.

“Yes? It is kind of small. Suits our needs pretty well, though.” Steve said then, with a slight frown. “Why did you ask?” he asked, replacing the card in the box and putting it away. 

“Oh uh… I just thought… Well.” Tony cleared his throat and smiled exasperatedly at himself. “I mean, you know, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Would you like S.I. to make a donation to your clinic?” he offered, looking fairly hopeful.

Steve examined Tony’s face carefully. There was something, an undertone of something. Maybe Tony was trying to find a better way to thank them? Steve smiled, sighing and patting Peter’s box. “Mr. Stark, I-”

“Please call me Tony.” Tony cut him, and Steve blinked. He hadn’t called the man by his last name ever since the first time he walked into the clinic, why did he resort to that name again, now?

“Oh, right, sorry.” he apologized genuinely. “Tony, we are doing well. I assure you, we don’t need donations here, but, if you do feel like helping animals, I can give you a few names… There are cat shelters and dog pounds that could do a lot of good with a donation from Stark Industries.” Steve answered and marked the disappointment in Tony’s features. “It’ll make us very happy, Tony. And it would allow these places to hire our services more often…” he commented, and Tony seemed to accept this a bit better.

“Right… Ok… You know my number. Send me the names and I’ll have Pep work the papers and everything.” Tony said, his smile almost fragile as he lifted the box with Peter in it and headed for the door.

“Tony.” Steve said, and Tony paused, glancing at him again uncertainly. “Thank you.” he said, smiling at the dark-haired billionaire. Tony’s smile felt far more real, now, and it was wider. He waved his free hand before leaving.


	3. Chapter 3

Several months passed. Tony’d learned their shifts, or so Steve suspected, and appeared at the clinic only when Steve was in charge. Peter grew fast into a well groomed cat. He had a surprisingly pleasant nature compared to males Steve had cared for in the past, and was susceptible to petting and attention. His fur was soft and healthy, and surprisingly, he didn’t even grow fat, despite Tony’s reports that the cat had become strictly in-doors resident. 

They had more work to do, these days. Some shelters and pounds finally had financial backing to call them in for patching up that was more than the bare basics. Steve had to smile at the thought. It was a sad condition for the animals, that was true, but thanks to Tony Stark, they could now at least be treated, and had more personnel taking care of them. He was surprised to find no discussion of this in the news, but when he asked Tony, the man had shrugged and said he didn’t like to buy public opinion with acts of kindness such as this. Steve decided not to pry.

Their post-checkup conversations grew longer over time, until one time, Bucky actually teased Steve about it, saying he shouldn’t be giving a customer bedroom eyes. Steve had punched him fair and square for that one, but Bucky simply chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying that if it was serious, maybe he should just ask Tony out. Steve didn’t know what to say to that, but the thought was already planted in his mind, wrecking its way through his sanity. 

It was Tony who finally brought it up, though, two visits later.

—

“Doc, I was wondering.” Tony said after another successful visit. Peter was bathing himself inside the cat-basket, and Steve was writing down the progress of the visit.  
“What about?” Steve asked absently as he marked down the next visit would have to include a rabies shot. Tony didn’t answer, so Steve glanced at him, and caught him staring at the card he was holding. He seemed to be either nervous or distracted, Steve couldn’t decide which.

“About…” Tony said, realizing Steve was waiting for an answer. “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, Doc, I’ll totally understand if it’s not your thing, but uh… Do you want to maybe go out sometime?” 

“You know,” Steve said after a short moment of silence, putting his pen down and keeping his gaze on Tony. “For a moment there, I could’ve sworn you’d just asked me out.” He was convinced he had a disbelieving look on his face, but he was also positive he had a small smile tugging the corners of his lips upwards.

“That’s because I just did.” Tony answered, his tone flat, his expression carefully sealed. Steve nodded his head in understanding.

“I see.” Steve said, looking down at Peter’s card, thumbing Tony’s number on it. “How about Friday?” he asked, turning his eyes on Tony again. Tony’s face broke into a brilliant smile, the relief couldn’t be concealed even if the man had actively tried to hide it.

“Friday’s great. I’ll pick you up?” Tony offered, and Steve shook his head.

“Let’s just meet here, eight o’clock?” 

“Works for me.”

—

The day came, and Steve took the late shift for the day. He figured he could close the clinic when Tony arrived, and they could head off from there. Most of the day was quiet, no emergencies, only routine visits. At six, a familiar face burst into the clinic, looking beat-up, and carrying a dog half his size, looking in no better condition. Oh boy. 

 

“Billy? What…” Steve asked, walking around the counter to help Billy carry the dog into the examination room. 

“Dr. Rogers, you have to help him…” was all Billy would say, and Steve already had his cellphone in hand, sending a message for Bucky to come in as soon as he could.

“Calm down Billy, just tell me what happened.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This part is a mirror chapter with smiledesu's story - “A Boy and his Dog”, the work that inspired me to write this.   
> You definitely don’t have to read hers, but if you like Young Avengers, I totally recommend it.

The damage had been extensive, but Steve was certain they’d caught all the sources of internal bleeding and broken bones - luckily, there were not many of either. The dog was still under sedation, and it took some contemplation before they decided to wake the poor creature up. Painkillers were one thing, but there was still danger if they kept him under sedation for too long. When they were done tending to the dog, not too surprising, Billy still stood there, at the operating table, looking worried and beat-up.

“He’ll probably live.” Steve said immediately, to reassure the boy that everything was going to be ok. “But he’ll need a new home, if what you told me is any indication.” he said, his tone sad. So many dogs were abandoned like this by their owners, it was such a pitiful sight, so few of them ever found a new, loving home.

“Probably?!” Billy panted before biting onto his lower lip. His eyes were set constantly on the poor creature lying before him, and he kept patting him, even if there was no response. He watched the dog’s bandaged chest rise and fall. Of course, he knew Steve was an excellent vet - he’s been a friend of Billy’s family for years.

“Is there any procedure for it?” Billy asked worriedly then and glanced at Steve. “Transfer of ownership? I mean-” He trailed off and turned to look at the collar lying on the table, removed during the operation. “He’s not a stray.” He added then in a whisper.

Steve watched Billy watching the dog. People rarely considered the fact that being a veterinarian included a lot more human contact than one would expect. He had to shake his head at the thought of this young dog ending up in a pound.

“Well, once we’ve stabilized him, which is basically right now, we try to locate his owners. If we can’t locate them or if they refuse to take him back, he gets passed to a pound.” And a damn shame, too. An Old English mixed with some Golden Retriever, perfect with just about anything, people, dogs, cats. Steve sighed, caressing the dog’s head gently. “Sometimes they get lucky.”

“And mostly they don’t.” Bucky interjected, glancing at Billy and ignoring the fierce disapproval in Steve’s glare.

Billy winced at Bucky’s words, he crouched and kept running his hand over the poor creature’s neck and face, reluctant to let go. “Do you think he’ll recognize us?” He asked and looked up at Steve with hope in his eyes.

The question surprised Steve, but he soon recovered, turning to check the IV. “I’m not sure.” He admitted, “He might recognize you, though. He seemed to relax when you let him smell you, earlier.” Steve explained, turning to Bucky. “Do you mind getting the chip-detector?” he asked in a leveled tone. He was not pleased with his partner at the moment, but things needed to be taken care of.

“Right away.” Bucky answered, managing to hold back the salute he was going to give Steve before heading out of the room.

Billy followed Bucky with his eyes until the man left the room, at which point the teen pushed himself up. It drew a pained reaction out of him, but he kept quiet about it. “Teddy”, the small plate read, the name written above a bone-shaped carving.

“How long do you think it’ll take him to recover?” He asked next and rested his hand back against Teddy’s snout.

“From the sedation, about twenty four hours. The abuse?” Steve paused, looking at the rising and falling chest of the dog. “Who knows. The physical injuries will pass within a month, but the mental ones…” he trailed off. Bucky just walked in with the alien-looking machine and started scanning the dog, so Steve turned his attention to Billy. “What about you? You don’t look so good, yourself. Does your mother know you’re here?” he asked, now capable of seeing Billy’s own injuries.

“Got a number, Cap, I’m going to call them now.” Bucky stated simply, heading out of the room to the reception area.

“I tripped, that’s all.” Billy lied, and quite obviously at that. “I’ve been through worse.” he added finally in a weak voice.

“Of course you have.” Steve said, not doubting that statement for a minute, sad as it was. “But whatever it was, we have all the bandaging supplies right here, so we might as well patch you up, too.” he offered, “or you can do it yourself, if you like.” he added, reaching for the bandaging supplies drawer and pulling out some anesthetics, bandages and tape.

Billy was still for a moment, and seemed to contemplate the offer. Finally he shrugged and looked a bit away. “Well, you’re the doctor.” He replied finally and ignored the fact his cheeks were painting.

The small smile on Steve’s face was kind as he nodded his head. “Alright.” he said, and held his hand out. “Show me where.”

A few minutes later, Bucky opened the door and called Steve over to the reception desk. The bandaging was just about done with, the last tape put in place to hold everything together and he ruffled Billy’s hair.

“Wait here, watch over him.” he requested, gesturing at the dog, before leaving the surgery room.

-

“The Norrises” Bucky told Steve when the man approached him. He put down the receiver, looking both angry and sad. “They say they’ve lost their dog, and they can’t take him back.” he said through gritted teeth.

“Color me surprised.” Steve answered with a sigh. “We can’t send him to the pound like this… Can you take him in for the recovery period or should I take him?” Steve asked. They both knew that because they were at the clinic most of the day, at least there the dog would have close medical attention. They couldn’t support a dog for very long, but they had to do what they could.

“Doesn’t matter much, does it, Cap? He’ll be here most of the time anyway. We can take care of him in turns until he’s healed, then we’ll see.” Bucky answered, glancing at the closed door leading to the surgery room. “How’s the kid looking to you?”

“Well, I won’t be surprised if he got kicked by the dog’s previous owners, but he’s not talking about it, so it’s just my assumption. I bandaged his most obvious wounds, but…”

“And his mother?”

“I’ll tell him to call her, or we could call her ourselves. I prefer the previous.”

“Your call, Cap.”

“Stop calling me that.” Steve snapped, turning back to the door and opening it. “Billy, when’s your mother picking you up?” he asked when he finally met Billy’s gaze, noting that the boy had pulled a chair over to sit next to the dog.

Billy blinked slowly at the question before shrugging. He then pushed himself up and pulled his clothes back into order. “She’s not. I don’t live that far from here, remember?”

“Oh.” Steve said, contemplating this, then glancing at Bucky. “You take first shift, Bucky. I’ll walk Billy home.” He turned to Billy and pointed at him to stop any protest that might come his way. “You know your mother will skin both of us alive if we let you walk home alone at this hour looking like that.”

Billy winced, less so at Steve’s insistence, more so at the thought of what was waiting for him at home. He hung his bag over his shoulder before glancing down at Teddy again. He reached for the creature again, patting him one last time before he had to leave. Only then he hesitated to move, and the question left him before he realized he had such a desire at all.

“Can I come and visit him?”

It didn’t surprise Steve at all, and he simply smiled. “Of course you can. He’ll be in the clinic during the day until he’s healed. You can come by during work hours.” he said, gesturing for Billy to join him on the way to the door. “Bucky, call me if you need anything.” he requested.

“Sure thing.” Bucky said, stifling the ‘Cap’ nickname.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Bucky’s the best friend we all know he is.

On the way back to the clinic from the Kaplan residence, Steve got a text message. He pulled the mobile device out of his pocket and viewed it. It was from Bucky. A picture of- “Tony!” Steve muttered, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to meet him at the clinic. The man was shown sitting on one of the chairs in the reception area and Steve punched dial as he hurried over. Bucky answered. “Don’t let him go anywhere.” Steve said as soon as Bucky picked up. He heard the man chuckle softly.

“Alright, but don’t be long, I need advice with the anti-biotics.” Bucky answered finally, and Steve affirmed this with a sound before hanging up. He would be there in five minutes if he ran, so he put the phone away in his pocket and broke into a run. How could he forget the date? 

When he burst into the clinic, both Bucky and Tony startled. They seemed to have been in the middle of conversation, which died immediately. Tony jumped to his feet, looking nervous. He was dressed nicely in a suit, complete with a tie. Steve felt very self conscious at his own attire. He had brought clothes with him to switch into for the date, but now he couldn’t really go anywhere, what with a dog after surgery…

“Hi Tony.” he said eventually, sending a careful, apologetic smile at the man, who visibly relaxed the next moment, though Steve wasn’t sure if it was because of his smile or because he’d forced himself to. “I’m… Sorry I’m late. We uh…”

“Had an emergency.” Bucky completed his sentence, and both Steve and Tony turned to look at him. “I just told Tony about Teddy the dog.” he explained, smiling and relaxed, if somewhat worried. “And that you had to escort lil’ Billy home.” he finished, and Steve nodded his head.

“Yeah, well… Yeah.” Steve said. “I don’t know what else to say, then.” he admitted, deflating. He let the door fall closed behind him and scratched the side of his head.   
“I’m gonna check up on Teddy.” Bucky informed and entered the surgery room, closing the door in his wake and leaving Steve to deal with Tony.

“I’m sorry-” Steve started saying, but Tony waved his hand to shut him up.

“It’s ok, I understand, an emergency is an emergency.” Tony said. “Can I take you out now, or do you still need to stay here?” he asked, sounding hopeful. Steve looked away towards the reception counter. 

“I’ll have to monitor him and be around to make sure he doesn’t get worse before tomorrow. I’ll call you tomorrow? We’ll set a different date.” Steve offered. He could read disappointment off Tony’s face, but he knew nothing good could happen on a date right after a surgery. They were quiet for a moment, Tony reluctant to leave but evidently unable to say so, until Steve looked away, pursing his lip momentarily. “And you can stick around, if you like. It’s not like I’m going anywhere…”

“Yes, I think I’ll do that.” Tony said. It sounded like he’s been holding his breath for the entire time it took Steve to offer this, and he sat back down, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I think I’ll stay here for a bit.” he muttered.

“Alright. I’ll just go look at the dog, then. Don’t go anywhere.” Steve answered, smiling exasperatedly at the man who wasn’t even looking back anymore. There was a faint wave of the hand and Steve just went. 

“So you did it.” Bucky said, smiling absently as he checked the dog’s pulse and eyes. Steve paused, tilting his head to try and understand what that was supposed to mean.  
“Excuse me?” 

“You asked Stark out, didn’t you? He said you were going to go on a date..?” Bucky lifted his eyes from the dog momentarily to assess the look on Steve’s face. “Or… It was Stark who made the move. I can see that happening.” Bucky caressed Teddy’s paw gently. Steve huffed.

“He doesn’t like it when people call him by his last name.” Steve muttered a weak response as he moved closer. “How’s the dog doing?”

“You should go, I’ll take care of Teddy here.” Bucky said, placing a hand over Steve’s over the dog. “He’s still out there, isn’t he? You should go out with him.”

“Bucky…” Steve tried for an exasperated response, but his friend was having none of that.

“I’m serious. Look, how long has it been since Peggy left? When are you going to finally pursue your own happiness, huh?” Bucky urged, ignoring the brief pain that painted Steve’s expression before it vanished. Steve sighed and shook his head.

“You said something about antibiotics…” 

“I already decided to give him a dose. Better safe than sorry. Now go, Steve, before I change my mind.” He said, waving his hand to shoo Steve away. Steve reluctantly pulled his hand back and stared at Bucky.

“You’re sure?” he asked, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

“Do you want me to kick you in the ass to prove it or are you going to take my word for it?” Bucky answered, giving Steve a playful-dangerous stare and Steve waved a hand in front of himself in defeat.

“Fine, ok, I get it. I’ll just go see if he still wants to.”


	6. Chapter 6

Tony didn’t only still want to go out with Steve, he’d actually said he could kiss Bucky for sending Steve out with him. It made Steve go a little pale with what Tony could only guess was jealousy, and he had to spend the next ten minutes reassuring Steve he wasn’t actually going to kiss Bucky. 

With that out of the way, Steve excused himself to go get changed out of his medical outfit and into his date-clothes. Bucky exited the surgery room at some point when Steve was away, and when Steve came back, he saw the two talking, looking friendly. Whatever conversation the two were holding, Steve suspected it had to do with him, because Tony had this renewed glint of curiosity in his eyes. 

“What lies have you been telling him, Barnes?” Steve asked, pulling down the lapels of his button-down to straighten them as he approached the two. Bucky chuckled and glanced at Tony.

“That’s his ‘scary tone’, he never calls me that unless he wants to scare me.” Bucky explained, earning an annoyed, but good natured huff from Steve and a grin from Tony. 

“Good, tell me everything you know, doc.” Tony told Bucky, glancing at Steve with something Steve couldn’t fully read. He scratched his cheek, a nervous gesture. “but later. Ready to go?” Tony asked, and when Steve nodded his head an affirmative, Tony gestured for the door. “After you.”

They walked down the street after Steve instructed Bucky to call him if anything changed with the patient, until they stopped next to a dark blue Lamborghini. Steve nearly sputtered when he realized that was Tony’s car, but he recovered quickly enough, reminding himself that Tony was a billionaire and that this was no big deal for the guy. He still hesitated at the curb. 

“Are you going to get in the car?” Tony asked, an eyebrow raised as he watched Steve over the roof of the car. The man was attractive, he had to give him that. Even in his doctor-uniform he was very handsome, but in his civics… Tony’s thoughts drifted. The suit looked like it’d been made for Steve to wear, and even with the hesitation written all over his features, Tony found him irresistibly good looking. 

“I’m just trying to remember when was the last time I’ve seen a Lamborghini and I…” Steve shook his head in exasperation, a small smile on his face. “I don’t think I ever did see one. Not up-close, and not down the street.” he admitted. It was Tony’s turn to look bashful as he reached up to wipe at his cheek.

“Oh… Well, heh.” Tony said, wondering if perhaps he’d overdone it with the car, “First time for everything, I guess.” he shrugged the next moment, trying for a casual approach. Steve seemed to relax a bit at that and eventually they managed to find themselves inside the car. Steve buckled up and immediately started looking around, taking in his surroundings. 

-

The reservations Tony had booked for them expired, and though Tony was sure he could get a table at that restaurant if he tried, it didn’t take more than a glance at Steve to see the man wasn’t up for a dress-code restaurant, even though he did have a suit on. So instead, Tony drove them to a diner he liked to frequent. Steve seemed to like the idea, because he leaned a bit more easily in his chair. When Tony was done parking, they got out of the car and into the diner.

In their suits, they almost looked out of place, but not quite. They found a quiet booth off to the side and slid into opposite chairs. Tony watched Steve and Steve had his eyes fixed on the table in front of him, as though in deep thought. For a moment neither of them spoke, and Tony waved the waitress over to order coffee for both of them while they were thinking about what to eat. When she left, Tony finally settled down, reaching up to scratch at his mustache thoughtfully. 

“So-” he said, and Steve startled, glanced up at Tony through a frown. Tony tilted his head. “Uh… You wanna talk about it?” he offered. At first he was going to go with ‘penny for your thoughts’, but he’d had his share of rejection when he offered Steve money in the past and opted not to venture in that direction again. Steve seemed to catch on to that, because a smile once more graced his lips, and exasperated as it may have been, it was better than that frown.

“Well… I don’t know how much Bucky told you, but uh…” Steve reached for the salt shaker and toyed with it absently. “I don’t deal well with human cruelty. I…” he smiled faintly, “I just don’t like bullies, you know?” he said, eyes fixed on the salt shaker for a moment longer before he lifted his gaze to study Tony’s face. “That poor dog… And you should’ve seen the boy who brought him in…” Steve set the salt shaker aside and folded his fingers together.

“Little Billy?” Tony asked, still watching Steve with a careful smile. He liked the sound of what the man was saying. Tony wasn’t a fan of bullies either. 

“Not that little, really, but we’ve known him since he was a baby, so, you know…” Steve supplied with a small chuckle. “I don’t even know why I’m talking about this right now.” he shook his head, “We’re on a date, we should be talking about fun things.” 

“No no, hey, this is fun, right?” The waitress just came back as Tony said that. She placed two mugs on the table and filled them with coffee, then raised a brow at Tony with obvious familiarity. Tony gave her a dashing smile and reached for his coffee. “The usual, sweetheart, and make it double, ok?” he pointed between himself and Steve with his free hand. She didn’t even write that down before nodding her head and leaving them once more. 

“So you really do frequent this place often.” Steve said, relaxing a bit now that he had something to hold onto, figuratively and literally as he reached for his own coffee and held it between his palms.

“Yeah, they make the meanest cheeseburgers here. I hope you eat that stuff because that’s what I just ordered.” Tony said. For a moment he grappled with himself internally for just ordering that for Steve without asking, but Steve laughed and nodded his head and Tony deflated immediately. At least Steve was easy-going, despite the rough night he’d had. “Good, so that’s going to take them a while…” Tony was staring at Steve’s hands as they held onto the coffee-mug. The fingers flexed and intertwined and when Tony turned his gaze to Steve’s face he realized that he’d been caught staring.

Until the cheeseburgers arrived, the two had managed to return to the subject of animal abuse three more times. Once, Tony tried to discuss Steve’s military background, but Steve had very firmly, if politely, side-stepped the subject completely. There was some idle banter about cars, and a request on Tony’s side to learn the reason Steve took on veterinary in the first place. Steve promised he’d tell him some other time, and just as he completed that sentence the waitress was back with their food.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 7 is pointless smut and pillow talk. I mean it, this is nsfw (or NC-17 if you insist). And almost completely irrelevant to the plot.

“I thought you didn’t do sex-on-the-first-date.” Tony said, his tone quiet, maybe awed, as he lay on his side next to Steve. He had one arm folded under his head as he watched Steve’s profile. Steve was lying on his back next to him, eyes closed and the smallest smile playing on his face. They were both naked, save for the blanket Steve had insisted they slide under after their first time together. 

“Oh?” Steve uttered, not opening his eyes but tilting his head slightly towards Tony. “Why?” was the simple question he presented. He didn’t feel bad about what they did. It’d been pleasant, and it was a nice follow-up to what had been a fun date, and a couple of months of acquaintance with Tony. There was no answer for a moment, and Steve opened his eyes to watch Tony’s face.

“I guess… It was the kind of impression I got, at first.” Tony supplied, and had to let out a resigned sigh as Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “That, and Bucky told me not to expect anything of the sort from you.” He admitted, and Steve chuckled, turning to lay on his side as well, facing Tony. He tucked his arm under his head and watched Tony’s face until the genius was starting to think he had something on his face. “What?” 

“Bucky is a good friend.” Steve said, reaching over to push a strand of hair from Tony’s eyes. “He knows me well, but… Obviously he was wrong about this.” Steve closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before he turned onto his back again, eyes set on the ceiling. 

“Before the war, I was more conservative about this. I’ll admit… I thought sex had to be had with the right partner. I used to tell myself that I had to take the time and find the right partner to do it right.” Steve paused, closing his eyes with a faint smile. “I fell in love.” 

Tony’s stare was well felt, and Steve ignored it, though it made him blush slightly as he spoke on. “She was… Everything I’d looked for, in a dame. She was amazing.” Tony turned to lay on his back, too, and folded his arms under his head with a heavy sigh. 

“What happened?” he asked carefully, and Steve took a very long time to answer. Tony could read hesitation in the air without even looking at him, so he remained silent.

“She left.” Steve said simply after the long contemplation. ‘left’ was the term he and Bucky chose to use for what happened, because talking about Peggy in any other terms had often brought about a relapse, and Steve didn’t want to scare Tony, even though just thinking about it was making him edgy. “Anyway, my point is, I never did get to sleep with her. Or tell her how I felt, for that matter. Wasted time, wasted effort.” Another deep breath was drawn, “When you’re in the front line, when you see what I’ve seen, you realize - it’s just sex. It’s _just sex_ , and you haven’t even had it yet because you thought it _meant_ more than it actually does.” The smile on Steve’s face turned a bit bitter and Tony reached over to pat his shoulder. He didn’t really know how to deal with this because he had no idea what Steve had seen, or what actually happened. 

“Hey, let’s talk about something else…” Tony suggested gently, and Steve nodded his head, unable to say anything. He pulled closer to the blond, wrapping his arm around Steve’s waist, and Steve let him. “Hey…” he whispered, kissing his cheek. “I had a really great time today, you know?” He said softly, letting his fingers draw absent patterns on Steve’s side. “Not just this, but everything, the date was fun.” He kissed Steve’s cheek again, and finally - finally Steve’s bitter expression started to melt away. 

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to talk about depressing things…” Steve said, his voice very quiet, but Tony reached up to slide a finger along his lips. 

“Nonsense,” Tony answered right away, “I brought it up. Besides, I really appreciate that you told me about it.” he pressed another kiss to Steve’s cheek for good measure. The next moment, Steve turned his head and kissed Tony’s lips gently. Tony’s hand cupped Steve’s cheek. 

“I know I said it’s _just sex_ , but I hope you understand I still believe it’s supposed to be had with the right partner.” Steve said then, and Tony chuckled.

“So what are you doing in bed with me?” Tony asked, tentatively trying for humor, which Steve seemed to catch right on to and laughed, the remains of the tension that had built up dispersing quickly. 

“I have no idea.” Steve said, though he had hoped his smile and the second kiss they shared were enough indication of his true intent. “You have a nice cat?” he said, and Tony laughed, shaking his head. 

“Good. At least there’s _something_ nice about me.” Tony teased, his fingers sliding along Steve’s cheek in a slow caress.

“It’s not the only nice thing about you.” Steve said, his tone changing slightly. 

“Oh? What else-” Tony managed to say, when one of Steve’s hands cupped him gently, making the words die on his lips. “Oh…” he uttered, eyes drifting to Steve’s collarbone. “You wanna… Go again?” He offered, smiling when lips kissed his forehead. 

“Only if you do.” Steve assured him, and Tony grabbed Steve’s arm, lifting his gaze to meet Steve’s. 

“You’re kidding, right? Adonis himself asking me to go again? Who am I to refuse?” And he hoped Steve wouldn’t tell him that he was exaggerating because they both knew he wasn’t. Steve rolled his eyes, but Tony kept staring at his chest and abs and biting his lower lip at set intervals. “Permission to go again, granted, soldier-boy.” He said, and immediately smacked himself mentally. Clearly that would be the worst nickname for Steve, right? To keep reminding him of the previous chapter of his life. But Steve didn’t seem to mind it, at all. He chuckled and claimed Tony’s lips again, this time with the same demanding manner he’d used for their previous round. It was obvious Steve had had some experiences since his military service, but Tony figured he could always ask about it _later_ when he didn’t have a slick tongue in his mouth and a hand cupping his ass, pulling him close. 

They shuffled about, the blanket pushed aside for easier movement, and Tony stared up at Steve, admiring his muscle tone and the scars that he knew he’d have to investigate some day. Steve kissed him again, settled between his thighs and pulled Tony’s hand down to wrap around their hardening members. “You don’t have to go as easy as you did before.” Steve informed him between nips to his lower lip. 

“Same goes to you, Steve…” Tony said, the name rolling easily from his lips as he took a firm hold and jerked them together at a set, agonizingly slow pace. Steve’s breath grew ragged fairly quickly. Not a virgin, but at least a while without a partner. Kind of like Tony himself, he managed to think as a small sound left him. Steve went stiffer in his hand, thick and hard and Tony closed his eyes. He’d felt it inside him just a while ago, but already the thought of having it again was making him squirm expectantly. “Come on… You’re hard enough…” He urged impatiently, and Steve chuckled as he reached for the condom pack he’d left on the nightstand. He pulled a condom out and freed it from its wrapping. 

“Put it on me, Tony…” Steve requested, handing the lubed rubber over, and Tony did as requested, rolling it over Steve’s hard-on and settling down more comfortably under him. Steve ran his palms down from Tony’s knees to his crotch along the inner thighs, making Tony shift and part his legs a bit more. He then hooked the back of one of Tony’s knees over his elbow and pulled it up as he turned to teasingly slide his clad cock over Tony’s rear. “Need more lube or is this enough?” Steve asked in a soft tone as Tony reached to circle his neck with his arms. 

“Should be enough as is… come on soldier-boy… Don’t be shy…” Tony was trying to urge Steve on, which worked like a charm. The next moment Steve’s aim was true and he was pressing in, and Tony’s eyes closed in concentration. The stretch and initial discomfort had already dissipated the first time they’d done it that evening, leaving Tony to deal with only a striking lack of attention to his dick. He reached for himself as soon as he realized this, and a moan left him. “Oh yes… Yes just… mm… Don’t move.” Tony uttered when Steve was fully sheathed, wiggling his ass slightly and Steve moaned at the squeeze. Ah, those precious sounds. Tony stroked himself once, twice, then nodded his head. “Ok, you can move now.” 

There was no pause between that statement and Steve’s next smooth movement. He drew out slowly, eyes set on Tony’s face, intent on catching any hint of discomfort, but all he managed to catch was the amazing sight of Tony completely and utterly enjoying himself, which was a pretty damn good sight if anyone asked him. “You’re tight…” he informed in a hushed voice as he got halfway out and sunk back in with a grunt of pleasure. “And warm.” 

“Yeah…” Tony said, his tone distracted, “crazy how… that works, huh…” He supplied, fingers tightening around himself and he stroked himself a bit slower. “You’re really hard…” he let the forefinger of his free hand run along Steve’s chest. Steve moved again, starting up a steady pace, and Tony’s head pressed back into the mattress. “Mm…” he urged as Steve’s pace picked up soon after. 

They spent a couple of quiet moments rutting against one another, the only sounds accompanying the activity were quiet moans and audible gasps and slight adjustment instructions. “Close…” Tony cautioned in a gasp at one point, his hand moving faster between them. Steve hummed that he’d heard. He wasn’t quite there yet, but that would hardly stand in the way of him making Tony cum a second time that night. A few seconds later, Tony tensed, pressed down against Steve, who stilled to let Tony ride out his orgasm. He cried out once, then groaned a few more times as he spilled over his hand and belly, and after a long moment, he finally settled back and opened his eyes to look at Steve, who was watching him intently.

“Like what you see?” He asked lazily, and Steve smiled, pulling a bit back with a question written all over his face, making Tony chuckle. “It won’t really be fair unless you get there, too. Come on…” Tony wiggled his ass again, letting out a sated grumble when Steve resumed movement. A few more silent moments passed. Steve buried his face in Tony’s neck, muffling a sound against Tony’s shoulder as he went completely still for a moment, then thrust a few more times. Tony could feel the uncanny pulsing that indicated Steve had finally climaxed. 

They remained tangled for a long moment after. Tony had his legs folded over the small of Steve’s back and his arms wrapped around his torso as he hummed, eyes closed. “You’re good at this.” to which Steve responded with another smile, experimentally trying to pull back, and Tony let him. There was a shared inhale as Steve pulled out, and an exhale when he rolled off of Tony and laid on his back beside him, panting.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we meet Bucky and Steve’s therapist and future owners of the cute dog Billy had saved - Billy’s mother. Co-Written with the one and only, smiledesu.

Two weeks passed in quiet. Billy dutifully arrived every day after school, making Bucky and Steve exchange impressed looks at first, and then fond ones, over the kid’s dedication. Teddy was making steady progress, getting healthier by the day, and even friendlier with them. At first, the dog would only truly be happy if Billy was around, but they’d managed to get on his good side, too, after a while. Tony, to Steve’s distinct displeasure, didn’t even try to be friendly, so things had been kept at a cool truce between them. When Tony came with Peter, Teddy was instructed to stay at his mat. Steve didn’t like doing this, but it was better than the open hostility it had been at first.

But Tony wasn’t there that day, a fact that made Billy let out a sigh of relief when he walked into the clinic. He offered Steve and Bucky both a small smile before he turned his attention to Teddy. Ever since the dog became able to limp towards him, Billy patiently waited, letting him do what he could. He expected Teddy to repeat the feat that day, too, but a part of him knew better. Though quite eager to greet Billy, Teddy wasn’t quite confident around other people - people like, say, Billy’s mother, Rebecca, who has been coming with him in the past few days, and was there with him again. Billy had hoped Teddy would get used to her presence by then, but it seemed like he was too optimistic. Teddy did get up, but stayed where he was, ears and tail slumped. Billy hated seeing Teddy like that - absolutely loathed it.

“Aaaw, it’s ok,” he said and approached the dog. He left his bag on one of the chairs before crouching down and offering Teddy some affection. “See? I can come over, too.”

Rebecca smiled softly at the two, but refrained from approaching them. Instead, she turned towards the two vets and her smile widened. “Hello again.”

“Hi Doc.” Bucky greeted with a wave.

“Doctor Kaplan, how have you been?” Steve asked pleasantly, smiling at her. At least this time Teddy was standing up, he mused absently. It was a first with her there.

“Oh, you know. This and that.” The woman replied and glanced once towards where her son was, now sitting on a chair next to where Teddy’s blanket was spread on the floor. The dog was lying down, close to Billy’s feet. Rebecca couldn’t help but feel for him.

Refusing to stall on that line of thought, she looked back at the two men with a small nod. “How about  _you_ , though? I hear it’s been…  _lively_  in here.”

“Yeah, Cap’s been getting bu~sy.” Bucky teased and Steve shot him a look that could only mean ‘shut up’.

“Bucky, you are so smooth sometimes.” Steve said dryly, aiming for exasperation and looking back to Rebecca. “But uh… Yeah. We’ve been getting more work lately.” he said.

The two’s antics made Rebecca laugh. Their interaction never failed to cheer her up. The two made so much progress, after all. “It’s terrible that so many animals need help, but it’s a good thing they have you two looking out for them.”

“Oh, not all of them are victims. Some are just residents in the pounds in the area that need seasonal stuff.” Steve assured her, “vaccination and other regular procedures.” He explained.

“Aren’t you gonna tell her about your-” Bucky started, but Steve spoke over him.

“And Bucky’s not going to shut up until I tell you I had a date, so, there you have it.” Steve relented at last.

Rebecca’s brows shot up at the news. She suspected something of the sort, going by what Billy told her, but to hear it from the horse’s own mouth was a bit overwhelming. She held her hand to her chest and let out a small chuckle. “A date- Steve, that’s wonderful! …I hope. How did it go?”

“Well.” Steve said, and before Bucky could supply any more of his input, he added, “Very much so, actually. Bucky, go see if Teddy needs more painkillers, please.”

“You just want me to go before I give away any more ‘personal’ stuff, but you’re forgetting who you’re talking to.” Buck retorted, but went to do as he was told.

“I’m sorry about that, he’s been anxious about Teddy. If we don’t find a home for him, we’ll have to put him in a pound in about two weeks, and he always gets resentful when this sort of thing happens…” As did Steve, but it was better to speak in Bucky’s name, for now.

Rebecca took a moment to observe the scene that unfolded. Teddy let Bucky approach him, but stayed noticeably close to Billy, who seemed quite concerned about him. She remained silent for a moment before nodding to herself.

“Well. We’ll see what we can do about that.” She whispered before giving Steve a rather berating look. “ _But_. As you just sent him that way, which means I shouldn’t approach yet - why not tell me more about this  _mystery date_.” Rebecca requested, and her demeanor softened. “It’s been a while since I even heard you  _considering_  it.”

Bucky gently patted Teddy, touching expertly where he knew they’d stitched the guy, where he knew bones had broken. they were tender touches to check if Teddy indeed needed more painkillers or not. Steve watched the man work from afar, inspected Billy’s reaction and Teddy’s pathetic look.

“Well, it’s a client, actually.” Steve said, turning back to his ex-therapist. “Came here a couple of months ago with a cat, asked me to save it… After a while, Bucky said I should make a move, but I was too slow.” he reached to scratch the side of his head with a sheepish smile on his face. “And the date was on the night Teddy was brought in, so… It’s not really old news.”

Rebecca listened carefully and smiled warmly all the while. She knew, of course, about Steve’s past misfortune in romance, and so this new development, for all the potential disasters it held to it, was wonderful progress to her. “A date right after surgery, though.. didn’t it…  _dampen the mood_?”

“At first, a little, but it got better after we had dinner.” Steve said, not sure if he should even bring up the fact that it was guy, or how the date had ended. Bucky was patting Teddy and praising him for being a good boy.

Billy threw in a few good words too, which seemed to make Teddy all the more reassured after the brief, sudden check-up. Rebecca closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before returning her attention to Steve. “Was it good enough for you to consider a second date…?” She asked gently.

“Consider…? Doctor Kaplan… We’ve been seeing each other nearly every day since then.” Steve answered. It was true. They’d fallen asleep together that night, and Tony turned out to be a very dedicated (clingy?) boyfriend. So much so that they’d actually had to agree that they  _were_  boyfriends and Tony had been most embarrassing when he walked into the clinic once with a huge bouquet… Steve palmed his face at the memory. “He’s very… uh… dedicated.” there. He said it.

There was more to that statement than Steve let on, but Rebecca concluded the poor guy seemed embarrassed enough already without her burrowing deeper. As for the fact Steve finally mentioned his spouse’s gender? It mattered very little to her if at all, so long as Steve seemed happy with the relationship. “It sounds  _lovely_.” She offered finally and reached to rest her hand over Steve’s arm. “I’m glad you found someone, even if I do need to insist you don’t rush anything. If only to enjoy it more, and properly.”

“Define… Rush anything.” Steve requested. He had a feeling he already knew what she meant, but he knew better than to assume.

In the meantime, Bucky straightened up and glanced at the two other doctors talking. He decided to give them some more time (just a few more minutes) and went into the storage room to bring a few supplies they were running low on.

Billy let out a small sigh when Bucky left, and he leaned down, moving his hand back and forth over Teddy’s back. Teddy himself was lying down, resting a bit.

Rebecca shrugged lightly. “Go at a pace you’ll be comfortable with. Know where you stand. You’re a grown man, Steve, I won’t tell you to avoid things I don’t want Billy to do.”

Steve smiled at that last statement and gave a faint nod of the head. “I think I can do that.” He said, and just as he turned to look at Billy again, Bucky joined them at the waiting room.

“Dog looks fine, Cap. I don’t think he needs painkillers. I restocked the gauze and anesthetic drawers, but we’re short on stitching kits.” Bucky informed. Steve nodded his head and scribbled this in their supply list. “So, what do you think, doc?” Bucky asked as he looked over at Billy again.

Rebecca followed Bucky’s gaze briefly before looking back at the man. “James, you know it’s dangerous to ask me that without being at least somewhat specific.” She warned in a warm voice.

Bucky mock gulped and then shook his head at Steve’s chuckle. “I mean… Aren’t you worried? Lil’ Billy’s getting attached to that furrball-”

“He has a name, Bucky. When will you start calling people and pets by their names? I’ve heard you insult Ms. Pride the other day, asking her how her pussy was. I’m pretty sure she didn’t appreciate that.” And Steve was obviously scornful over this.

“It was in good fun! She punched me in the face, we had a few laughs. Come on C- Steve, don’t be so upset.” Bucky tried to appease Steve, who crossed his arms and gave him The Look. Bucky fell silent. “Ok, ok. I will rephrase. Heesh. Ahem. Aren’t you worried that Billy might get attached to Teddy?”

Rebecca kept most of her amusement at the exchange to herself, especially the part where James kept referring to Billy in that manner. The question that followed was noticeably heavier, though, and so she took her time to consider an answer. “I think we can all agree we’re well past that point, James.” She concluded finally in a soft voice.

The two men remained silent for a moment after this. They knew she was right. One glance at Billy, the way he looked at the dog, it was so obvious he was completely attached. Steve was the first to speak when the moment was gone. “I hope he’ll be alright when Teddy’s done recovering and is moved out of here.”

“Does it look like he will be, though?” Bucky questioned, glancing at Steve, who didn’t look back.

“That depends on where Teddy will go, doesn’t it?” Rebecca asked. The question was accompanied with a smile that was at the same time cautious and warm.

The implication was registered, but they were both well aware there were things that needed to be sorted out before anything could be settled. They nodded their heads and Bucky looked over at Rebecca. “He’s a good dog, doc.” he said.

“So I hear.” The woman responded and turned to look at her son. “Every day, in fact.” She remained silent for a moment before she looked at Steve, and then at James. “Well then. Just because you two are no longer officially my patients, doesn’t mean I’m not here on business. If you excuse me, I have a dog to hopefully socialize with.”

“Go ahead.” Bucky said, just as Steve wished her good luck. They stood back then, watching carefully and ready to move in to avert any crisis.

Rebecca took a deep breath before she approached Billy. She glanced occasionally at Teddy, and found him looking back with more curiosity than anxiousness, or at least that’s what it looked like. She seemed to be making some progress with getting on Teddy’s good side.

Bucky elbowed Steve lightly, and Steve smiled at him for a minute before looking back at Teddy cautiously greeting Rebecca.

—-

It was a while later, when Steve resumed his doctor-demeanor and told Billy and Rebecca that Teddy needed to rest. He informed them that Teddy’s recovering according to expectations - better, even - and that he should be ready to be released at some point on the week after next if they find a proper home for him. Bucky remained silent as per Steve’s instruction.

There was the usual saying-goodbye ritual between the two which always amused Bucky, and then Billy approached them. 

“So, uh… tomorrow, then.” he said and gave Steve a slightly nervous look before lowering his gaze. He never could stare at the man directly for too long.

“Tomorrow.” Steve agreed with a gentle smile, and waved after the two as they departed. He ignored Bucky’s grin for all of five minutes after the Kaplans were gone, before sending him a look. “What?”

“He’s  _so_  crushing on you.” Bucky teased, and Steve sighed, smiling tiredly at him.

“Don’t be mean, he’s just a kid.” Steve said, and Bucky nodded.

“A kid with a crush, yes.” was the answer.

“Bucky…”

“Hey, we’re drinking tonight.” Bucky cut his retort.

“What? So soon?” Steve asked, “We’re not even sure…” he looked over at Teddy, lying in his little makeshift bed and looking tiredly at them. “And we can’t leave him alone like that…”

“Who said anything about leaving him alone? I’ll get the Blue Label, you finish closing up the cashier. We’ll have a boys’ night right here.” Bucky said, pulling on a jacket and leaving the clinic before Steve could issue any objection to that plan.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some celebration, some naughty NSFW play. Don’t kill me for this, though, I will make it up to them, I promise~

 

Bucky ended up bringing two bottles and two glasses from the nearby shop, He arranged everything on the table at the reception area and locked the front door. “All set, Cap.” He announced as Steve walked around the counter, eyeing the purchase skeptically. 

“Two bottles? What do you think we are, bottomless pits? Bucky, you get drunk after two glasses, and I don’t need much more than that…” Steve half reprimanded. It didn’t matter that much, as the remaining whiskey wouldn’t go to waste, but he just didn’t see the point. “Besides, it’s not even settled that the Kaplans will take him, you know…” He looked over into the examination room, which was now also serving as recovery room, where Teddy lay asleep on his makeshift bed. “They need to make sure he’s used to the rest of the family…” 

“Steve, do you really think lil’ Billy will give up on this furrball? Have you seen how these two are? Almost inseparable. His parents will never hear the end of it if they don’t take this fella in.” Bucky reassured and poured whiskey into the glasses. “Cheers, Cap. You know it’s a done deal.” he said, holding up one of the glasses. Steve lifted the remaining one and sighed.

“If you say so. I hope you don’t get disappointed later on.”

“Bottoms up, spoilsport.” 

—-

It had been settled early on that during the time Teddy was in recovery, one of them was to spend the night at the clinic every night. They alternated the shifts between themselves, and everything was slowly coming to an end, with Teddy steadily getting better. That night was Steve’s turn to stay, and Bucky was getting ready to leave. He was well and typsy, grinning like an idiot. If their apartments weren’t so close to the clinic, Steve would’ve been worried about the guy’s well being. 

“And send me a message when you get home, ok?” Steve told Bucky as he escorted him to the door. Bucky waved him off, blew a kiss in Teddy’s direction and left. The guy could be a sweetheart, but he could be a pain in the ass just as well, Steve thought as he closed the door and settled down on the couch. A brief look over at Teddy showed that the dog was still well out of it, a fact Steve was astounded by, what with the strong smell of whiskey that hung in the air. He walked over and crouched next to the sleeping dog, patted him along the side. Teddy was breathing evenly and looking sound asleep, no signs of distress. It made Steve smile. He strongly hoped that Bucky was right, and that the Kaplans would indeed adopt this sweet dog, if only for Billy’s sake. As he dwelled on these thoughts, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled back, hoping Teddy won’t wake up as he took a few steps away and took the phone out of his pocket. 

“Dr. Rogers.” He answered, not looking at the caller’s ID. 

“So formal of you.” Tony’s voice drifted over the line, sounding amused. “Can I set an appointment?” He asked. Steve had informed Tony of his shifts schedule, to prevent any unpleasant surprises, and that had been a great move, because it  _did_  prevent unpleasant surprises. Steve smiled and headed for the door. 

“Of course, what time?” He asked. He was still riding an absent buzz from the alcohol, and he knew Tony wouldn’t pass a chance to get a taste of that whiskey. It could develop into an even nicer evening than it already was. 

“How about right now?” Tony asked as Steve opened the door, and he was standing on the other side, grinning at Steve. “Hi.” He said with a wave of his hand and walked into the clinic when Steve stepped aside to allow it. The door closed and locked behind him and he pushed closer to Steve, planting a brief kiss on his lips. He then paused to stare at the table in the reception area. “Well. Someone’s having a party without me.” He said, not sounding too bemused by the idea.

“Yeah, it’s a kind of tradition we have…” Steve explained as he turned to take Bucky’s glass and walked into the examination room to wash it in the sink there. “Every time we’ve confirmed a potential home for a patient, we do a little round of drinks in celebration.” He said. He soon returned, only to find Tony with a glass - Steve’s own glass - which was now full, but slowly draining. He poured himself a serving and raised it in a toast before taking a drink.

“So,” Tony said after he’d drained half the glass, “where is the guy?” he asked casually. A misleading demeanor to anyone who didn’t look carefully. Steve smiled and shook his head. 

“He went home, it’s pretty late and he’s doing morning shift tomorrow.” Steve said and walked around the low table in the reception room to wrap his arm around Tony’s waist. “It’s just you and me here.” He said, his tone quiet as he pressed the tip of his nose against Tony’s cheek. He’d missed the guy, and was apparently a bit more influenced than he’d expected to be by the alcohol.

“Doc, if I didn’t know you, I’d say you’re trying to start something.” Tony said, rolling nothing in the glass in his hand in a slow sway. 

“You’ve only known me for a couple of months, Tony. I think I can still surprise you.” Steve said, turned to finish his own drink and took the glass from Tony’s hand. The glasses were safely deposited on the table and Steve cupped Tony’s cheek with his palm, leaning in for a kiss. Tony turned his head into it, deepening the contact. They kissed for a long moment, Steve’s hand caressing along the side of Tony’s head to finally stop at the back of his neck, while his other hand trailed a random pattern over Tony’s chest. In the meantime, Tony was busy massaging Steve’s biceps. When they parted, they were both breathing heavily. 

“Fair enough.” Tony said, his smile small and amused as he reached up to nimbly slide his fingers along the sides of Steve’s head. “Haven’t got where to do it, though. You refused to use the sofa last time I was here.” 

“The sofa can’t be easily cleaned, but I was thinking about bending you over the examination table and having my way with you.” Steve drawled, and Tony would’ve thought it was pretty weird, coming from Steve, only that he knew Steve was on that side of drunk, and he himself wasn’t sober enough to really care either way. “How does that sound?” Steve asked, letting his lips caress Tony’s cheek as he spoke. 

“Sounds like we’re wasting our time standing out here.” Tony answered, and Steve smiled against his cheek. He pulled back and guided Tony into the examination room, where Tony paused for a moment, glancing uncertainly at the sleeping dog. Steve pressed both palms to Tony’s sides and slid them up and down soothingly. “We just need to keep it as quiet as possible so he won’t wake up.” He reassured, and They both knew that wasn’t going to work, but at that moment they didn’t really care. Tony let his hands reach under Steve’s shirt, glad for the fact the man had already changed out of his clinic clothes. 

They kissed again, lips fitted together just right, as Steve reached for Tony’s belt. It was true that he preferred more intimate contact, in one of their houses, on a bed, and in full nude, but in the clinic that didn’t really work. Besides, Steve was no stranger to quickies, though it’d been quite a while since he’d had any of those. Tony helped with pushing his pants down to his knees, making a soft sound when Steve’s hand cupped him through his boxer-briefs. He tugged at Steve’s pants, fingers fumbling for the zipper and before long they were both just naked enough. Steve kneeled before Tony then, lips curling into a smile at the sound that left Tony when he realized what he was going for. The next moment, Steve had Tony’s cock in his mouth, lips sliding wet and smooth along the hardening flesh. Tony’s fingers tangled in Steve’s hair but didn’t pull. He choked down a sound and bucked his hips slightly forward. 

It was when Steve’s fingers trailed between his legs to tease behind his balls that Tony’s grasp on Steve’s hair tightened and pulled Steve back. “Come on S..Steve,” He said breathlessly, “you want to do more than this, don’t you?” he sounded distant and in need, and Steve pulled off, sending a smile at Tony as he stood up, his palm still cupping Tony’s hard flesh. “Turn around, then.” Steve purred, leaning in to kiss Tony, who grabbed Steve’s shirt and pulled himself into it. 

“I should get you drunk more often, sweetheart, you’re a sight to be seen under the influence.” Tony purred back with a lopsided smile when the kiss broke, and the next moment, he turned around as requested, smiling at Steve’s low chuckle. His eyes then fell on those of a fully awake and curious looking Old-English dog. He muffled a sound with his hand over his mouth before gasping, “Steve-!” 

“What? I didn’t even- Oh…” Steve started answering in confusion before he noticed Teddy was awake. Well, that wasn’t much of a surprise, he thought, letting his hands caress along the curve of Tony’s ass in an attempt to sooth him. “Don’t worry, he won’t come over, he’s scared of you.” Steve tried to reassure, but Tony reached over to still Steve’s hands. “I can’t, he’s  _looking right at me_.” he said, his demeanor a sharp change from what it had been merely seconds ago. Steve sighed, pressing flush against him. 

“You didn’t seem to mind when Peter walked over my chest last time you topped…” Steve whispered in his ear, but he didn’t try to do anything more. If Tony wasn’t comfortable doing it right there, there was no use in trying to convince him. 

“Well that was Peter, he didn’t know what he was doing.” Tony answered conversationally, eyes never leaving the dog’s own. “Besides, that was  _adorable_. This one could bite my dick off if he wanted to.” And that made Steve chuckle as he pulled slightly back. The mood was completely gone, he could tell even through the haze of alcohol. 

“Alright, then what do you want to do?” Steve asked, reaching to pull Tony’s underwear and pants back in place before turning to do the same for himself. Tony zipped up and turned to face Steve, kissing him for a brief moment before hugging him. “We can watch television or… You can tell me about the exciting new family you found for that dog.” Tony offered, edging towards the door that led back to the reception area. Maybe he could convince Steve to do it on the sofa after all.

—-

The clinic was deafeningly quiet after the Kaplans left with Teddy on a leash and all the papers to make them his legal owners. The two doctors stood by the door, not looking at one another for a long moment. Bucky tapped his fingers over the reception counter and Steve leaned against the wall next to the door. 

“I’m proud of you, Cap, you didn’t even cry.” Bucky teased softly, his voice lacking its usual sting. He was somehow very interested in his shoes, eyes glued to the floor around them. 

“It was a close call.” Steve answered with the faintest smile as he pushed himself off the wall and patted Bucky’s shoulder as he walked past him. “It’s going to be a little quiet here for a while, but we’ve been there before.” He said, and Bucky nodded his head, scratched his cheek and smiled.

“At least I was right, wasn’t I? Lil’ Billy and that furrball are now efficiently inseparable.” Bucky declared, and Steve chuckled. 

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous.” Steve teased as he walked into the examination room and started cleaning up the area that had been designated for the dog. There was a huff of indignation from his partner, and Bucky followed him with a broom. 

“Of who, exactly? The kid’s head over heels for you and the dog’s hung up on the kid.” Bucky retorted, making Steve laugh as he took the blankets out of the way, allowing the other man space to clean up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cockblock in this chapter is brought to you courtesy of smiledesu. It was her fault, yes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This has some nsfw. Steve has been having a relapse in his condition, and he turns to Tony for support. Sort of a prologue for the heavier parts of this fic. I’m sorry.

 

 

Steve was a modest man. This was something Tony had been exposed to early on. His apartment was small, just enough to hold a bachelor in it, and Tony knew Steve made enough to afford more, but it just didn’t seem like he would be comfortable with it. Since their first time together, they had sex a handful of times more, saw each other often enough to make Pepper roll her eyes at Tony whenever she saw him, and talked on the phone pretty much every day. Tony thought that he was finally onto something good in his life. It was true he was a little negligent of his work, but Pepper took it in a stride because apparently she cared about his love life, what a relief. And Steve was perfect in every way imaginable. Tony was sure of that. He was also sure there was something… Something intangible but present that the man was hiding from him. Not because of Tony, he liked to hope, but because Steve wasn’t ready to share it yet. It tied in well with the conversation they nearly had on the first night. 

Then, of course, there were the nights he’d spent at the clinic with Steve. Obviously, he couldn’t really be there every time. Not even half the time, if he were honest, which was a damn shame. There had been some change, though. Something Tony couldn’t quite point to. They’d been on friendly terms for a while, with Peter serving as a kind of excuse for him to meet Steve, and Tony’d learned to read some of Steve’s behavior with relative accuracy. That had changed since they started seeing each other, and Tony wasn’t sure if for the better. Steve looked more tired, these days, resigned and sad and Tony couldn’t fathom where it came from. It bothered him, but he didn’t know how to address the issue. Despite him being a genius with excellent perception, he hadn’t caught on to the fact Steve never slept in his presence, not since the first time they had sex together, and not at the clinic. 

It was nearing half past one in the middle of the night, as Tony was tinkering with a new landmine design, that a small hologram popped up to his right atop the workbench. The face of Dr. Rogers appeared with the header ‘Incoming Call’ over his head. Tony glanced at the image. The man was wearing his white doctor’s robe and a distant expression. That made Tony smile as he commanded the system with a wave of his hand, and said “To what do I owe this honor, Doc? I imagine it’s well past your bedtime.” He grinned and glanced at the large clock that hung on the wall to the side. There was silence on the other side, and Tony frowned. “Steve?” He asked carefully, setting down his screwdriver. 

“I’m sorry for calling so late.” Steve’s voice came through, “Did I wake you up?”

“Of course not, I’m working on-” he looked at the small, round form that was definitely a dummy, but still looked, for all purposes, very real and explosive. “something. D’you wanna catch some coffee and a midnight snack?” He asked, straightening up and wiping his hands on his shirt. There was an audible inhale on the other end of the line, and Tony could just see Steve’s face in his mind’s eye, contemplating the idea. 

“Yeah, that would be… that would be nice. Where do you want to meet?” Steve asked, and Tony gave him an address. The place was somewhere in the middle between Tony’s mansion and Steve’s apartment, a place they’d been to once before. Steve arrived a bit earlier than Tony, who went to take a shower - just because Steve called him in the dead of night didn’t mean it would be okay to meet him all workshop-dirty.

—-

Steve was already sitting at a far corner, staring at a cup of coffee, when Tony entered the place. He nodded at the sole waitress who did the night-shift there, and she smiled at him. “Mr. Stark, will you be having the usual?” she asked. 

“Yeah, coffee and a midnight snack, and oh, be a darling, will you?” Tony was looking at Steve the whole time, “Add some of your famous dessert?” he said, and headed for Steve’s table before she could answer. He slid into the chair across from Steve and grinned at him. They hadn’t discussed public displays of affection yet, so he kept his hands to himself. “Hi.” 

“I’m sorry for dragging you out here in the middle of the night.” Steve greeted, smiling uneasily at Tony, who waved him off with a shake of the head. 

“Nonsense, Doc. You didn’t even wake me up.” Tony assured him as the waitress brought his coffee and a plate with doughnuts. “Besides, aren’t we, you know, on terms that justify that, now?” He asked, picking up a doughnut and taking a giant bite out of it. Steve’s laughter was pleasant, and Tony always enjoyed hearing it. At that moment, though, it sounded a bit forced, though still genuine. 

“Well, I guess you’re right.” Steve conceded, reached for the plate and picked up a doughnut as well. “It’s just…” He took a breath and turned his gaze out towards the window, unseeing, as he struggled to construct an explanation that wouldn’t send Tony into too much unneeded concern. “There are things I haven’t told you about me, yet, and I’m not sure how you’ll react when I tell you.” He said, deciding on honesty at last. Tony didn’t seem as surprised by this admission as he’d expected him to be. In fact, Tony gave a faint nod of the head and leaned his cheek on the heel of his palm, elbow resting on the table as he finished his doughnut. 

“Then this is no place to be having this conversation, wouldn’t you say?” Tony said, looking calm, if curious. “Wanna go back to mine?” He offered, keeping his expression easy, not wanting to put any pressure on Steve, even though it seemed like the guy was dying to tell him whatever it was. Steve sighed and gave a resigned smile, and Tony knew he was right. 

“Let’s finish the coffee, first.” Steve requested, and Tony gestured vaguely with a shrug. 

—-

By the time they stepped into the mansion that Tony called home, the curiosity had become very prominent. He kept looking at Steve as if that would make the man speak, but Steve remained stubbornly quiet the whole ride back, and until they settled on the sofa in the living room on the first floor. Steve kept an appropriate distance Tony didn’t like at all, but respected all the same. There was tension in the air, and Steve was avoiding his gaze. “Steve?”

“I don’t sleep.” Steve stated at last, flat tone, eyes set on his palms in his lap. Tony watched him more carefully after that. There were dark circles around the man’s eyes, heavier under than over, but very noticeable if one knew where to look. His movement, now that Tony thought about it, had been more lethargic than usual, too. He blinked, reached over to rest a careful hand on Steve’s shoulder. “At all?” he asked carefully, and Steve lowered his head before shaking it. “Since when?” Tony narrowed his eyes as he asked. There were consequences to prolonged sleep deprivation.

“Nearly a week now. Ever since we gave away the dog.” Steve admitted, and Tony had to bite back an adoring smile at that. He snuck his fingers towards Steve’s nape, sliding them gently over his skin. “And before that, I could only sleep for a couple of hours every night, while I was in the clinic.” Steve said, and Tony’s fingers paused their motion. When Tony thought about it, he’d never really seen Steve sleep. When he visited him in his clinic watches, Steve never slept, and Tony wondered if it was because of his own presence there.

“And when I visited… I voided you of that, as well.” Tony made the deduction, and Steve’s shoulders squared. The doctor didn’t lift his gaze from his palms the whole while, and Tony grew worried. “Why, Steve?” He asked, fingers resuming motion by sheer conscious conviction. “What’s keeping you up?” 

“Nightmares, at first.” Steve leaned back then, reaching to take Tony’s hand from his neck and holding it by the wrist awkwardly. “I know it sounds stupid, but it gets bad.” He said, leaning his head against the backrest, eyes closed. He sounded exhausted. “I used to take sleeping pills during my stay at the asylum.” And Steve bit his lip suddenly, eyes shutting tighter. “Shit, that came out wrong-”

“Asylum?” Tony cut in. He hadn’t done his usual background research when he made his move on Steve. The guy was so forthcoming, he couldn’t imagine anything he’d hide from him would be that meaningful, but there they were, and Steve was telling him he was… “What did you do at an asylum, Steve? You seemed perfectly fine, you’re a doctor for Christ’s sake, I don’t understand-” 

“I am fine, Tony. I was only there for a short time until they figured out what I had.” Steve stopped Tony’s ramble. “They gave me a nice amount of pills and told me I had to see a therapist until further notice, and that was that.” And Tony seemed completely unconvinced. 

“What’d they say you had? Have?” Tony asked, not even sure how to talk about it without offending Steve, but Steve seemed to be wounded enough by his previous reaction to last him a lifetime of guilt-trip. He hadn’t intended to react that way, but if it was as Steve said it was, he could’ve presented it in a less obscure way.

“Post Traumatic something… Stress?” Steve frowned, covering his forehead with his palm in thought. “Yeah stress, disorder. I’ve been symptoms-free for a little over ten years now.” And when Tony looked at him he could see how this impressed Steve as much as it did him. 

“What were they? The symptoms, I mean.” Tony asked, and Steve tilted his head sideways to glance at Tony before he pulled himself straighter in the sofa, finally lowering the hand that held Tony’s wrist onto the cushions. For a moment Tony counted the symptoms he remembered the disorder included. He’d checked when Rohdy once mentioned it, and Tony rarely forgot any new knowledge he’d acquired.

“Nightmares, Insomnia,” Steve counted, eyes downcast. “things like that.” He averted at last, not wanting to give away more at the moment, and Tony decided not to push it. 

“Alright.” Tony said, shifting a bit closer to Steve, slowly, so he could be stopped if it was inappropriate. Steve didn’t stop him, so he turned to hug him. “Alright, we can work with that.” He tried to reassure as he nuzzled just behind Steve’s ear gently. “But first, you need to sleep.” And Steve didn’t object, even though Tony could see the man didn’t believe he could. He pulled back, getting to his feet and reaching for Steve’s hands. “Come on, I’ve got an exceptionally comfortable bed, and that’s what you said, so I know it’s true.” He said, and grinned when it made Steve laugh. 

—-

Every last muscle in Steve’s body tightened, back arching off the bed as he strained for breath, his fingers grasping onto the bed-sheets as he tried not to jerk his hips. Tony’s mouth slid along his cock, sucking him hard and Steve was too much on edge to hold back, to even try. He was so tired, so exhausted. He couldn’t even believe it when he got hard, but Tony didn’t even seem fazed by it. Only smirked and kissed him and said he’d take good care of him, and Steve didn’t want to stop him, but knew he wouldn’t have had the capacity to ward him off if he wanted to. The small grunt that fell from his lips was the only warning he was going to give, and Tony didn’t need more than that. 

Afterwards, Tony moved up his body, settling comfortably at his side, and Steve kissed him. It was a sloppy and messy kiss and Steve tasted himself on Tony’s tongue, letting out a heated sound. Tony broke the kiss, panting. “Steve…” 

“What about you, Tony?” Steve asked, still breathless and riding the last of his orgasm. He was so tired, now, he didn’t think he could move at all. Still, he didn’t want to leave Tony hanging, and the gesture made Tony laugh. He pecked Steve’s lips once more. 

“Don’t worry about me now, honey. You’ll take care of me when you wake up, but now, let’s sleep?” Tony said, kissing Steve’s forehead, and Steve hummed in response, eyes already closed. What could Steve do, then, but wrap his arms around Tony and hold him close?

“I’ll have nightmares.” Steve cautioned half heartedly, already partially gone. Tony only pulled closer in response, face burrowing into the side of Steve’s neck. “Then I’ll hold you until they pass.” he said quietly, pressing another kiss to Steve’s skin.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short... I've been trying to do a million things lately, and it felt like a good place to stop before things got serious.

  
Tony had thought, at least for a while, that Steve would be able to sleep the whole night through. He’d been wrong, of course. The amount of exhaustion accumulated in Steve’s body did help the man sleep for a couple of hours, but, when Tony jolted awake at a stir from the other man, a part of him knew it was too early. “But we can’t just…” Steve was saying, and Tony glanced in his direction in the dark room. “What was that?” he asked, and Steve’s whole body jerked as the man gasped in surprise. Tony pulled back by sheer instinct, and felt the air and the bed stir as Steve pulled himself up sharply.

“Night lights, J.” Tony said in a low tone, and the room was immediately illuminated by a dim light. Tony could see Steve clearly, and he pressed both palms to the man’s arms. “Steve, it’s okay.” He said, and Steve sent a look in his direction Tony couldn’t read. “You alright?” He asked, still holding on. In the dim night lights, Steve’s eyes seemed almost entirely black as he watched Tony’s face, searching for more than that mundane question, and he soon lowered his gaze, looking conflicted. “Steve…” Tony pressed on, and Steve pulled free.

“I’m sorry-” Steve started saying, but Tony was having none of that. He hugged Steve with a shake of the head. “Don’t be. Try to go back to sleep.” to which Steve responded by tensing up considerably. “Jarvis, time.” Tony then said, and a small digital clock display appeared above the bedside table. It read 05:13, and Steve’s eyes reflected it perfectly as he looked at the digits. “You need sleep, Steve. No one can handle any type of emotional strain without sleep.” Tony said as he leaned in to press his face to Steve’s warm neck. “You’re safe here, just lay down, we’ll leave the lights on for a bit.” 

“Why aren’t you…” Steve asked, frowning as he let Tony push him back onto the bed. “Why are you taking this so well?” He finally settled for, as Tony pressed close again, arm draping across his chest. At that moment, a faint mewling sound was heard, followed by a slight scratching at the door. The door clicked open and not half a minute of bewildered silence passed before the bed dipped at one corner. Steve felt the light weight of Tony’s cat as he sauntered over them, found a nice dent between them in the blanket that covered them, and laid down to sleep. 

“Remember Peter?” Tony murmured into Steve’s neck, and Steve saw the cat’s ear twitch at the mentioning of his name before he settled down again. “He used to be just like you, at the beginning, after I took him off the street.” Tony admitted. “He slept right where you’re lying, and he woke me up every night at least 3 times with his nightmares.” He said, the smile carrying over in his voice. “Now, Pete is a cat. He can’t really talk about it and get help that way, but he took comfort in my presence and it was enough for him.” A faint purring carried over the air and through the blanket and Steve chuckled faintly. 

“Are you comparing me to your cat?” Steve asked then, though there was no reproach in his tone. Tony shook his head and sighed. “Or are you just trying to make me feel better?” 

“A little bit of both.” Tony admitted, his tone already sleepier than just a moment ago. “Hey…” he said, reaching up to slide his finger along Steve’s lips. “Maybe we can talk about it more, tomorrow?” He requested, and Steve took a slow breath before nodding his head.

-

In the morning they didn’t get the chance to do anything they’d planned. Steve had managed to fall asleep again, but the next time he jolted awake, he nearly pushed Tony off the bed in his daze, and then refused to even try again. He thanked Tony hurriedly, kissed him, then left to get his things from his own apartment before going to work. Tony bemoaned the loss of Steve’s warmth next to him and his diligent nature, but when, after fifteen minutes, he realized Steve really wasn’t coming back anytime soon, he rolled over his back. Staring at the ceiling, he heaved a sigh, then covered his eyes.

“Jarvis, you up?” He asked, watching Peter sauntering out of the room from the corner of his eye. “How may I help you this morning, Sir?” Jarvis asked and Tony tilted his head back. “I need you to hack…” there was a thoughtful pause. “Hack the military systems, extract everything they know about Captain Steven Rogers and then report to me.” He said, sitting up decidedly. “Sir, are you sure that is a good idea?” Jarvis sounded a bit edgy, which was an unacceptable emotion for an AI to display. “We’ll find out, J. Just run a superficial query at first, keywords injury, hospital, post trauma.” He answered briskly as he shed his sleep clothes and slipped into workshop clothes. “Understood, sir. Estimated time for task-completion, thirty minutes and ten seconds.” 

“I need to give you more processing power.” Tony sighed as he stepped into the shower-room to brush his teeth, smirking slightly at Jarvis’ “Indeed.” 

-

“Cap, are you sure you’re alright?” Bucky asked for the third time since Steve had entered the clinic half an hour ago. Steve had forgotten he had the evening shift that day, and was only due to start working a couple of hours later. He was going over their storage room, and business were morning-slow, so Bucky watched him shift the heavy food-sacks when he slipped and fell on his ass. He remained sitting, palming his face with one hand while hugging the large bag with the other. “Steve?” Bucky asked, crouching next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Steve lowered his hand and turned a resigned look at him. “Jesus, look at your eyes. How long has it been since you slept?” Bucky asked, reaching over to grab the food from Steve and stash it away. He then turned to offer his hand to help Steve up. Steve took it and let himself be pulled up to his feet. 

“A couple of hours.” Steve relented when Bucky’s questioning stare continued. He sighed. “I slept at Tony’s… A couple of hours.”

“And before that?” Bucky demanded, already heading back to the reception area, where he grabbed the phone. 

“About a week.” 

“I’m calling Doc Kaplan.”

“Bucky…”

“Don’t you Bucky me, Steve, if I don’t call her she’ll kill me when she finds out. Was it nightmares again?” Bucky asked as he punched her number into the phone. Steve nodded his head with a heavy air, and Bucky paused. “How long has it been? Ten years?” He asked carefully, only to have Steve look away. The line connected on the other side and Bucky turned away from Steve as well. 

-

“Sir, the data is ready.” Jarvis announced to a mildly grouchy Tony Stark, who was sitting in his kitchen cradling a cup of coffee as he watched a to do list on his tablet. “Bring it up here, J. I want it in chronological order.” And immediately the to do list was replaced by a spreadsheet of information. “Okay, remove all information before the fifties, seriously J, you think I’d date a ninety year old veteran?” and the silence that followed was telling. The list was reconstructed, and Tony sighed. “You do, don’t you? You know, sometimes I regret giving you sentience.” He complained, skimming over the information again. “What have we got here….”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the picture clears out here, I guess. I wish I could fit some more of Tony into this one, but it just.. didn’t work out.  
> My thanks to my bff, smiledesu, and to my husband for being my guinea pigs with this.

 

“And are they the same nightmares?” The doctor asked. Steve had been lucky that Bucky called her when he did. She was apparently free that day, and so told Bucky to have Steve come by for an hour or so. A preliminary session, so to speak. There was some protest. Steve didn’t want to make Bucky work extra that day, but it was apparently non-negotiable. So there he was, sitting in front of Doctor Rebecca Kaplan at the Kaplan household, with tea in his hand and a furry dog sitting right next to him. He was absently patting Teddy’s head with his free hand.

“I wouldn’t say they’re exactly the same, no.” He answered her question and took a sip from the tea. “It’s the same setup, but different…” Different people, he didn’t say. She didn’t seem to need the explicit explanation. He gestured with his hand instead, before replacing it on-top of the dog’s head. He sighed. “It’s different, but the same. Does that make any sense?” 

“Of course it makes sense, Steven. Things have changed.” She said, smiled at him, and reached to scribble something down. “Do you want your sleeping pills prescription back? Or do you have an alternative?” She asked, more for curiosity’s sake than anything else. She’d explained in the past that medications were a last-resort solution for her with her patients. 

“Well, in the past week I’ve only been able to sleep once. Last night.” Steve admitted, looking more troubled than bashful as he combed through Teddy’s thick fur. The dog made a small sound and Steve managed to give him a smile. “Remember when I watched over you at the clinic, big-boy?” He asked without expecting an answer. The dog seemed enthused that he’d been addressed, but Steve continued, talking to the doctor again. “I mean, it’s started before, but when I was doing a night shift with Teddy, I managed to sleep almost a full night each time.” 

Rebecca frowned and then scribbled another something before turning to him again. “So let’s deal with two questions here, okay? One, I’d like to know when it’s actually started. Two, you said you managed to sleep last night but you didn’t have the dog with you. How did that happen?” She asked. She knew she could present questions to him in lists, because Steve had always been a meticulous man. His ability to memorize just about anything was astounding. 

“Well…” Steve seemed hesitant, his gaze turned back towards the dog. He didn’t want to mention Tony. He didn’t want to discuss the possibility that seeing him might be bringing back something he couldn’t quite place. However, he couldn’t ignore the fact that the relapse had begun when they started dating, and that it was only in Tony’s bed that he’d managed to sleep, even if the nightmares had still haunted him. 

——

“J, wake up the systems at the shop. I want visual representation of this data. I want it in years and I want you to correlate Stane’s backstabbing-” Tony started saying, then caught himself and shook his head. “Stane’s double dealing with the events this data portrays. Also, reaccess the military systems and pull out the files on Margaret Carter, James Buchanan Barnes and Steven Rogers. I want the full details of the injury, and I want to know who the enemy was, and Jarvis-”

“Yes, sir?”

“Put all this data in my private server. Lock it under passcode O-S-B. We’re not telling anyone about this investigation. Especially not Retired Captain Steven Grant Rogers. But you have to also deny access to Virginia Potts, that’s Pepper, and James Rhodes, with the username Rhody. Jarvis, if you tell anyone about this I swear to God you will regret it.” Tony warned, and the look on his face was fierce, nothing like his usual playful air. There was a quiet moment. “Do I make myself clear, Jarvis?”

“Crystal clear, Sir.” Jarvis answered, and Tony could swear there was a halted quality to his voice. He left his empty coffee mug in the sink, grabbed up the tablet and headed for the workshop.

——

“Well?” The doctor urged gently but persistently. She could see Steve was holding something back. It was interesting how after all these years, Steve still thought he could hide things from her. Or maybe he was just stalling, uneasy with something. She remembered he’d been this way about things in the past. Matters of the heart. She couldn’t tell if she hoped it was that, or something else, now.

“You know what I’m gonna say, Dr. Kaplan.” He answered after a moment. When she said nothing, and only kept looking at him that way, Steve cleared his throat and sighed. “Well for your first question, I’m not entirely sure, but I think it was around the time I started dating Tony.” He said, his gaze settling on Teddy’s snout. The dog was looking at him, that good natured, confused look on his face. It was easier, safer, to look at the dog, than at his doctor, who was undoubtedly writing down some more notes as the silence stretched on. “And,” he broke it before she could, “I slept at his place last night, so that’s how I managed to sleep.” 

“Oh.” The doctor said conversationally and examined her notes again before resolutely pushing them away along with her pen. She turned fully towards Steve. “How did that happen?” She asked, not in a judgemental tone, but rather a curious one. It had been established long ago that Steve would not sleep in the presence of his partners, and it was a decision the doctor supported, given the fact Steve tended to take a few moments to recover from a nightmare, and during that time it took him to recover, he could seriously injure whoever it was that slept with him. 

“He insisted.” Steve admitted, then smiled somewhat bashfully. “I told you, I think, he’s very… dedicated.” The dog chose that moment to nosebutt against Steve’s thigh, and Steve blinked, glancing down. He realized he’d stopped patting him at some point, and shook his head exasperatedly. “You sure like attention.” 

“He sure does.” Dr. Kaplan said with an absent smile, and then continued the conversation as if nothing had interrupted it. “Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve had partners who insisted, in the past, but even though your nightmares never came back until this recent relapse, you still refused every last one of them.” She had a raised eyebrow as she spoke. “What’s different about this guy?”   
Steve thought this question over, then shrugged. “I don’t know.” He concluded. “Maybe it’s related, you know, the relapse and this…” He trailed off and scratched behind Teddy’s ear. “It feels… different.”   
“How so?” 

“You know, I nearly pushed him off the bed when I woke up the second time.” He admitted, eyes still set on the dog for lack of a better place to look at. The dog looked right back. “He didn’t even complain. Just told me to try and sleep more. I… couldn’t.” Steve paused then, tilting his head. “It’s as if… He doesn’t let me worry about it. It feels like whatever it is I carry with me, he’s willing to carry it with me.” 

“That  _does_  sound different.” The doctor agreed with a faint nod of the head. She was watching him closely, even though he was stubbornly looking away. “How do you feel about that idea? Having someone to share the burden with?” She asked.

“It’s…” He shook his head again. “Scary, I guess?” He shifted in his chair and looked back at her. “I want to tell him. I don’t know why, but it feels like if I do, he may be able to help.” Steve explained, removing his hand from Teddy’s head. “But at the same time, it feels like it might drive him away.” 

“Well if knowing would drive him away, it’s better to have it happen now than later down the road, wouldn’t you say?” Rebecca said, waving the dog over and handing him a treat before patting him with a nearly silent “good boy” praise for being so quiet. Steve watched her go about this for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, sipping from his tea. 

“In my nightmares, I see him die the same way she did.” He said solemnly, then took a deep breath. Saying this out loud shook him, but he surprisingly managed to maintain his composure. “And I’m right there, and there’s nothing I can do to save him.”

—-

Standing at his main workstation, Tony was staring at his three holographic screens and frowning in acute frustration. He turned on his heels and went for the kitchenette. “Jarvis.” He said, “Jarvis the dates don’t add up.” He sounded very troubled as he reached into the fridge to pull out something to drink. He’d have looked for something stronger than the juice he found there, but his patience ran too thin to trouble himself with it.

“Sir, have you considered the possibility that Stark Industries’ weapons could still fall into enemy hands after the initial purge you performed?” Jarvis asked carefully.

“I have, and that’s why we have trackers in all of them, isn’t that right, J? This… doesn’t make sense. I want to know where that bomb came from.” He took a long swig right from the bottle before putting it back and stomping over back to his station. “Bring forward the file on Margaret. In the meantime, I want you to run a search in our tracking systems for these years, search for locations of the shrapnel mines, the heavy rockets and the Stark design for RPGs.” 

“Right away, sir.” 

—-

“How long have you been seeing him?” 

The subject change surprised Steve, and he turned to look at his doctor, finally meeting her eyes. “Excuse me?” 

“Steven, your new boyfriend took the place, in your nightmares, of the one girl you ever truly loved. According to what you just told me, anyway.” She tried to explain, “I’m trying to understand how that could have happened.” 

“Oh.” Steve said, contemplating that explanation. “Well that depends, really. We started dating maybe a month ago, but I’ve been thinking of asking him out for a bit longer than that.” 

“I see.” The doctor said, then remained quiet as she considered the information she had. It wasn’t much to go by, even Steve knew that much.

“Do you think telling him might help?” Steve asked before she could say anything more. She regarded him for a moment, then sighed.

“There is no way of knowing, really.” She admitted, glancing at the dog, who chose to lay down a while ago, bored with their endless conversation. “The nightmares may subside, but you have to understand these things are not always consistent. It’s the state your mind is in now. You could get all the different reactions you used to get, outside of insomnia and nightmares.” She said cautiously. “He needs to know these things too, so he can help you if that happens.” or take cover, she decided not to add.

Not answering her, Steve got to his feet. He placed the tea on the desk and smiled at the dog when he stood too, wagging his tail expectantly. He glanced at the doctor then. “I guess I’ll have to.” he said, and she sighed again. 

“You don’t have to do that alone, you know. You can bring him here, we’ll sit together and we can explain everything.” She offered, but Steve shook his head.

“No, he doesn’t get along very well with Teddy,” The dog bumped against his leg at the mentioning of his name, and Steve chuckled, crouching next to him and patting him. “I don’t want to stress him out while he’s still recovering.”

“Say… Do you mind taking him out for his noon-walk?” The doctor suddenly offered, and Steve glanced at her. “He takes mid-day walks, yes. Morning evening and mid-day. He needs the exercise.” 

“I know that, Dr. Kaplan. I told you about it.” Steve said, then stood up. “Alright, I’ll take him. Where’s his leash?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was been planning to get this chapter ready and posted a while ago, but it just wouldn’t budge.   
> I hope to have the next chapter ready today or tomorrow latest. 
> 
> My personal highlights in this chapter:   
>  Playtime with Peter.  
>  Carol cameo.  
>  A corgi. 
> 
> Have fun. =]

 

“Sir-” Jarvis started saying, but paused when Tony waved his hand impatiently to shut him up. He gave Tony a moment to finish skimming over a paragraph before trying again. “Sir, your playtime with Peter is starting in a few minutes.”

“Is he even awake?”

“Sir, he is never awake when the designated playtime starts.”

“Then put it off by an hour.”

“As always, then. Is there anything I might be of help with?”

“No, J, just be quiet.” Tony said. His eyes were set intently on the screen as he finished going through the file on Margaret “Peggy” Carter. He could see, to some extent, what had drawn Steve to her. She’d been competent, brave, forward. And she’d looked good, too, if the images attached to the file were anything to go by. She was also very much dead.

Dead as in killed in action. There were pictures of that, too.

Tony remembered his conversation with Steve. There had been no death mentioned in relation to this lady, and Tony knew Steve had talked about her, because he had read Steve’s file half an hour ago. Perhaps Steve didn’t like talking about it, but Tony couldn’t help but think there was more to it. Steve wasn’t naive, and he wasn’t a fool. The details on Peggy’s death were, for lack of a better word, gruesome. It had been messy, and awful and it was-

“My bomb killed his girlfriend.”

“Indeed.”

“I told you to be quiet.”

“Sir, Peter is awake.”

“My bomb, Jarvis. I killed his girlfriend.”

“Perhaps it would be wise to stop for now…” Jarvis suggested carefully, as Tony sat motionless, staring at the list of information. Date of incident, state of medical services, recovered remains of the weapon, serial numbers. He needed a drink.

“Locate it.” Tony said plainly as he got to his feet.

“Ms. Potts is on the line-” Jarvis said, and Tony’s PA’s voice followed.

“Tony, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Pep, nothing.” Tony answered hurriedly as he headed for the door.

“Anthony Stark stop right there.” Her stern voice commanded, and out of sheer power of habit, Tony stood in his place. He blinked at his own reaction, then shook his head. Before he could speak, though, she continued. “This is the emergency line, Tony, and Jarvis never uses it. Talk.”

“Traitor.” Tony hissed under his breath, then leaned against the door. “It’s…. really nothing, Pep, I’m not sure what happened. There might have been some sort of malfunction-”

“I’m coming over, don’t you dare go anywhere.”

Tony had a protest in the ready, but the line was already dead, and Tony figured he had around fifteen minutes to get rid of any evidence of his investigation. That wouldn’t be too hard. He shut down everything after locking down the files, then headed back to the living quarters levels in search of Peter.

—

“So what did the doc say?” Bucky asked when Steve entered the clinic. Steve said nothing, and only placed a small rounded box on the counter as he headed to the back to get changed. Bucky grabbed the small box and frowned at it. “Sleeping pills? Really?” He asked as he followed, waiting outside the changing room.

“For emergency. She wants me to try something else, but if that doesn’t work, she wanted me to have backup.” Steve answered as he pulled on a doctor’s robe. “Teddy’s getting stronger.” he then informed, perhaps opting for a subject change as he exited the changing room. Bucky was right there, and that didn’t surprise him at all.

“That ball of fur. I’m not surprised.” Bucky said fondly, “With a loving family, they can overcome a lot.” He clapped Steve’s shoulder once, then followed him to the reception area. “So what is it she wants you to do?” he asked, putting the sleeping pills on the counter and heading for the computer to check their appointment list.

Steve hesitated, then reached for the medication-box, deposited it in a drawer and leaned against the counter, facing away from Bucky. “She says that if sleeping at Tony’s helped once, it might work again, and that I should give it a try, even if I get nightmares.” Steve explained, sounding at least a bit put off by that idea. It’s not that he didn’t want to share a bed with Tony, not at all. They’d slept together the first time, before the relapse began. He may have been careless back then, but nothing had happened.

There were other problems. It felt like it would be taking their relationship a step forward too fast, and he hated the thought that they would transition into sleeping whole nights together for this reason, and not because they actually wanted to.

“I thought you got violent when you had those.” Bucky said, cutting through Steve’s thoughts, his tone questioning as he looked up at his back. Steve only shrugged as the doorbell chimed.

—-

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t, look-” Tony took the little stick from Pepper’s hand. There was a string attached at the end of it, and on the other end of that string was a small fluffy piece of something that might’ve looked like a plushy at some point. “You need to wave it in irregular motions to catch his attention and then-” Tony flicked the toy around with his wrist and Peter launched his whole body at it, only to land on nothing when Tony pulled it away at the last second. “-take it out of his way.”

“Tony.” Pepper said, and Tony turned his eyes towards her carefully. He knew that tone. It was the ‘don’t mess with me’ tone she had perfected long ago. “I had five meetings today. Now, thanks to you, I have four, and if this goes on, I may end up not having any meetings today and unlike you I actually like doing my job.” She paused, staring at him intently. “So I’m going to pretend you didn’t just waste half an hour of my life showing me how your cat enjoys playtime with you, but in return, you are going to tell me exactly why Jarvis used the emergency line to contact me.”

“I told you Pep, it must’ve been a malfunction-” Tony started saying but Pepper spoke over him.

“Jarvis, what was Mr. Stark doing at the time you called me?”

“Don’t you dare, J.”

“I’m not at liberty to say, Ms. Potts.” Jarvis answered pleasantly, “But I can assure you, beyond all shadow of a doubt, that there had been no malfunction, and that I called you for a very good reason.”

“That still counts as treason, AI.” Tony huffed. Peter pawed at the unmoving toy, and Tony pulled it off the string, pressed a small button and the plushy-like end started zooming around the room, with Peter hot on its tail.

“Do you have any idea, Tony, how startlingly worrisome it is when even your AI seems to worry about you?” Pepper asked, changing tactics to try and get any hint of what might’ve happened. “Did you drink?”

“What? No! I didn’t drink, Pep, I just…” Tony stood and walked over a couple of discarded toys to reach the cabinet where he used to keep his liquor all those years ago. “See? It’s still empty.” He said, opening the doors. “And Jarvis has an unanswerable question programmed into his system so that if I ever do ask him to get me a drink, I’ll need to solve that, first.” he explained, neglecting to mention how he did have a drink that one time with Steve. It didn’t seem to matter - he hadn’t fallen back into the habit since, which was a small, private victory he wasn’t going to discuss with anyone. Pepper knew about his safety mechanism with Jarvis. She had her arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face.

“Then what is it?”

For a moment Tony squared his shoulders in defiance, but, “It’s Steve.” He relented at last, shoulders slumping as he leaned against the cabinet, eyes downcast.

—-

“Ah, if it’s not our one fifteen appointment.” Bucky declared as he grinned at the tall blonde who entered the clinic. She graced him with a smile as he walked around the counter to greet her before he crouched next to the corgi she brought in with her. It was a pure breed, propped proudly on four short legs with a perpetual smile on its face. “And how is Marvel doing today?”

“Oh you know.” She answered, taking off her sunglasses and folding them into their box before putting it away in her bag. “He’s taking life at his own pace.” She explained, glancing at Steve, who still stood solemnly at the counter. “What’s up, Cap? You’re looking a little under the weather today.” She walked over, letting go of the leash and bumping a friendly fist against Steve’s shoulder.

“Come on Marvel, let’s see what’s up.” Bucky said, taking the leash and leading the dog into the examination room. The dog hurried after him happily. “What’s he got, Carol?” Bucky asked from the examination room once he was in there, glancing towards the reception area. She smiled at Steve who was still standing there, giving her a slight smile. He didn’t feel like talking.

“Nothing too serious, Buck.” She said, stepping into the examination room as well and chuckling as she watched the man bring the dog up to stand on the examination table. Marvel licked at Bucky’s face twice before the man managed to put some distance between them. “Just a routine check up and maybe some advice on how to make him more comfortable. He’s been whining at night…” And the door to the examination room closed.

Steve sighed at the relative silence that fell. He could still hear muffled voices, but nothing coherent. He rounded the counter and opened the drawer, pulled out the medication box and stared at it hatefully. It was irrational, illogical and unfair to feel this way about these pills. For one, these things had saved him in the past, quite literally. They were not at fault. The medication wasn’t the cause of his problems. He sighed and dropped the box back into the drawer and slammed it shut. It was so unfair.

So many years he’d struggled, kept himself in check. He’d done the right thing, kept his distance, never got too serious with anyone. It had been convenient, and he hardly ever had a relapse. Specifically, he never had insomnia since, never had nightmare, or if he did, he blissfully forgot them. There were other things, small things, he thought, that did happen. If he really considered it honestly, he would have to acknowledge the moments of heavy breathing, disorientation. They were rare, but they did happen. It happened more if he’d been dating a brunette, less with blonds, more with women than ever with men. Never since he’d met Tony, and he even dared sleep in his presence once. Twice.

Steve frowned at the thought. Twice? The first time, yes. He did fall asleep a little after Tony did. It was before the insomnia kicked in, before his nightmares returned. Tony had pressed up close against him and he could suddenly feel his breath on his skin like a lingering phantom sensation. The memory brought a small smile to his face. Of course he could sleep next to Tony. It had felt safe, and he managed to forget about his misgivings, to neglect his responsibility. He’d put Tony in danger, and Tony, upon realizing this, only asked to sleep next to him again. The idiot.

—-

“Tony you promised.” Pepper said, pinching the bridge of her nose. She could barely contain her anger, but then, with Tony it had never been easy.

“I kept my word, Pep. I did.” Tony answered weakly, but she was having none of that.

“You did not keep your word, Tony. You promised never to hack into the military databases ever again, you promised not to run a background check on your partners ever again. Jesus!” She was on her feet in an instant and Peter dashed out of the room. “What are you going to tell him?”

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are.” Pepper’s tone was sharp, hard. She didn’t know Tony’s boyfriend very well, and she would always chose Tony’s best interest over anyone else’s, but there were things she was not going to tolerate. She’d seen too many relationships crumble with Tony’s incapability to be honest, and she’d hoped he could continue his honesty streak with this guy. “You are going to tell him _something_  because if you don’t, I will.” She warned.

“You wouldn’t.” Tony said, disbelief coloring his voice. Giving her one good look, though, he chuckled humorlessly. “You would.” he corrected. Boy, now would be a good time for a drink.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I posted the previous chapter last week and said I would post this the next day? Well guess what story decided to be a dick and not let me write it. It turned out far too short for my tastes, but that’s what you get. I hope you enjoy~

 

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Pepper pointed out after several moments of silence had passed. Tony pushed himself upright and looked at the door. Finding Peter in the mansion now would only be possible with the assistance of Jarvis’ sensors, but given that Pepper was still giving him an earnest look, he figured the cat could amuse himself for the time being. He walked over to her, held her arms in his hands and looked her right in the eye.

“You don’t want to know.” he said, marked her rolling her eyes and ignored the gesture as he plopped onto the couch. “Besides, there’s not enough alcohol in my blood for me to deal with it, let alone talk to  _you_  about it.”

“Then have Jarvis tell me.” She insisted, and he patted the couch, a quiet request for her to join him. She did with a slow exhale. “Or at least give me a hint. It has to be serious if Jarvis called me about it…” she said, making Tony think that perhaps Jarvis was becoming a liability.

“Remember Stane?” Tony said, hoping that would make her stop asking, but the look on her face told him he was going to have to tell her everything, just so she won’t think Steve had anything to do with that betrayal. He sighed and closed his eyes, turning to face away from her. “I’ve worked  _so_ > hard to make sure shit like that never happens again. I’m not even talking about his scheming to have me kidnapped here, I’m talking about the double-dealing. Our weapons - My weapons, in enemy hands.” He turned to look at her, just to see how his words were affecting her. She seemed intent on hearing him out before forming an opinion. That worked for him.

“J, bring up the chart from the injury report. No pictures.” He said, pulling one of his tablets out of a drawer case that stood next to the couch. The screen lit with the list he’d seen before. “See this serial number? I remember this deal.” It had been around ten years ago, maybe a little more, but Tony rarely forgot important events that related to his weapons manufacturing. “These bombs shouldn’t even exist, remember?” He told Pepper and she nodded in response, concern creasing her brow.

“I remember. We cancelled the deal with that factory before they started manufacturing. All the numbers we assigned for them were quarantined.” her frown deepened. “How come the tracking systems never alerted us to this?” She asked. Tony opened his mouth to answer, but Jarvis’ voice came through.

“Sir, might I suggest an assumption?” He requested.

“Assume away.” Tony answered with a gesture of his hand.

“Sir, we cancelled the contract with them because, after some background check-ups, you were not pleased with their quality of work. Based on the assumption that the quality of work was so low due to lack of education or intelligence, we may determine that it is unlikely they would understand the blueprints for your weapons to their fullest extent.”

“The point, Jarvis.” Tony requested, though he already saw where this was going.

“The point is that we can, with approximately 87 percent certainty, assume they had removed the tracking systems to save time and money in production, rather than for stealth reasons. I am suggesting they were not aware of what the tracking systems were for.”

“I agree, Tony. I’ve met their chairman and some of their production personnel. Not the brightest bunch.” Pepper said, examining Tony’s face closely. “So we can assume they manufactured at least the bulk we’d originally contracted them to, with these serial numbers. And without your trackers.”

—-

“Doc, we’re gonna need your opinion here.” Bucky said when the door opened again. It made Steve start, but he covered it well with a concerned look as he got to his feet and went to greet Marvel at last. The dog was thrilled to see him, and he smiled at him fondly. “Carol says he’s whining at night.” Bucky informed him.

“Well, does he get to go when you walk him?” Steve asked, patting the dog and mentally pondering, for the thousandth time, if he shouldn’t adopt one after all. Carol considered that question in the meantime, and Bucky turned to get a treat for the dog.

“I make sure he does, Cap.” Carol said then, sighing. Steve patted her shoulder reassuringly. “And he has his own bed, though he always sleeps in mine, so I know he’s not cold, and definitely not lonely…”

Eventually, they concluded the problem must have been the arrival of a new pet in Carol’s apartment building, one Marvel had yet to meet, but whose smell was prominent. Steve wondered if she could arrange a meeting between the two pets, and she said she would consider it. They gave Marvel some vitamins and a full inspection. Perfectly healthy and energetic, Marvel was a sight for sore eyes, especially for Steve.

“Let us know how it went.” Steve requested, and Carol smiled at him. She walked over and squeezed his arm gently.

“Take it easy, Cap.” She said, “And call me if you need anything.” And with a wave at Bucky, she left the clinic. Bucky was grinning, but Steve only had the smallest smile stretching his features. It was that obvious, huh.

“I’m gonna-” Steve started saying, glancing at Bucky, who held a hand up, then waved him off.

“Go ahead, call him. Let me know how it went.”

—-

“Sir, Dr. Rogers is on the line.” Jarvis declared. There had been several tense, quiet moments before this, and Tony glanced at Pepper when the announcement rang through. He then pulled his phone out of his pocket and true enough, Steve’s image flashed along the screen. Just seeing that face was making him feel a bit better.

“I gotta take this.” He said, as if Pepper needed an excuse for this, and answered the phone. “Hello gorgeous.” the smile on his face plastered itself there without his conscious decision. Pepper rolled her eyes again and pointed to the door before heading towards it.

“Hi Tony-“

“Wait Pep. One second Steve.” She stopped at the door and glanced at him. “Don’t go too far, I’ll want to finish this discussion when I’m done here.” She bowed her head minutely to indicate she will, and left the room. Tony sighed then, sitting back against the couch’s soft cushions. “Okay now we’re good. What’s up?”

“I didn’t mean to disturb-“

“Steve, baby, please. You’re not disturbing me at all. I was going to call you within the hour anyway.” It was true. He’d been planning to call Steve, as soon as Pepper took her leave. That might not have taken an hour, but that was a minor detail. “You left in a rush this morning, I thought I might’ve scared you off.” But that wasn’t it at all, was it? On the other end of the line, Steve started laughing, a soft laughter, genuinely amused, but not mocking. “What?”

“Oh Tony, you’re so adorable sometimes, just like-” Steve was saying, but then he paused. There was a moment of silence, and then Steve cleared his throat. “Anyway,” he said, changing the subject awkwardly, “I was wondering if we could meet later today.” He said, and Tony glanced at the time on his phone’s screen.

“Sure.” Tony said then, “You want to grab something somewhere or order takeout?” It sounded like it wasn’t just a random request to meet, no matter how he looked at it, but he figured Steve would tell him if it’s anything important.

“I think we can manage with takeout.” Steve said, and after a moment sighed into the speaker. “Tony… This may sound unbecoming, but,” there was a pause, and Tony could swear he could see Steve hesitating in his mind’s eye. “Uh… Would it be okay if I… Try to sleep over again, tonight?” Yes, the man’s tone was brimming with hesitation. Tony took a moment to appreciate this. Up until just the other day, he couldn’t imagine Steve being anything but a confident man who knows where he stands and what his goals are. Now, he was starting to see this new side of him, and it was a fascinating revelation. With the knowledge of what had happened to Steve’s old sweetheart, Tony felt inadequate. He felt like they might be treading into a relationship doomed to fail, but… Steve sounded so hopeful…

“Of course you can. I’d be happy to have you in my bed.” Tony said, and there was no playfulness in his tone at all, not even a little bit. The smile on his face, though, might have been a bit sly. Steve laughed on the other side, and it was worth sounding a bit silly, just to have the man laugh that way.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll be there after I finish my shift here. Apparently I’m doing the evening round. I completely forgot about it this morning. Bucky had a few laughs at my expense.” Steve said, sounding much more relaxed, now that the main concern was out of the way. Tony was grinning stupidly to himself. Trust Steve to make it all better without even knowing there was anything wrong.

“The bastard.” Tony said, his tone mock vengeful, and Steve laughed again. Ah. Twice in less than five minutes. Must be something serious if the tension-break was so extreme for him. “I’ll call takeout when you let me know you’re on your way, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds good. I’ll call you later, then. Oh, and Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, you sit down and stare at your story for hours that turn into days, that turn into weeks, and you just cannot write a single word for them.
> 
> And then one night you drain a full glass of Martini and pop out 3000 words without noticing.
> 
> This chapter takes us one step further down the plot-line. I’m hoping to finish the main story in, say, three chapters, maybe four. We’ll see how it goes.
> 
> Rated NC-17 for explicit sex.
> 
> Have fun~ Hopefully the next chapter won’t be as difficult to write~

 

——

They ate dinner in relative silence. Steve told Tony about his day and his peculiar clients, and Tony watched him, still a bit bewildered by the fact that the man was there to stay the night. It’s not that he had anything against sleepovers, he’d just never considered them as a separate entity to sex. He chewed slowly, laughed in all the right places, and asked about small details that sounded interesting.

“-And I’ve told Don at least five times in the past, that Thor can’t digest human food as well as he does dog-food, but he doesn’t listen. I mean, you’d think a doctor would understand these things.” Steve was saying. This one patient, a St. Bernard dog, apparently had a doctor for owners. A humans’ doctor, who was apparently Steve’s friend from the army, and who had, at one point, suffered some injury and was let go. Apparently the man had a wife and a cat, and the reason the dog had been brought in that day was actually to make sure none of the scratches the cat had left on the dog were badly infected.

“I’m still working on the fact that guy has a dog called Thor and a cat called Loki. I mean, talk about cliche…” Tony said, then turned to sip some soda. Steve was laughing, but Tony continued, “Besides, if the cat is so abusive, why do they keep both of them?”

“Well, the dog belongs to his wife, Jane Foster? I think you might know the name, she’s an astrophysicist. And the cat has been with him for several years before he met her. They’re both very attached.” Steve explained when the laughter subsided.

Later, they found Peter and played with him for a while. He was an enthusiastic little thing, but never once did he scratch either of them, and only playfully tried to bite Steve when he recognized the clinic’s scent on him. Tony set up some music in the background, and at one point, Peter jumped onto Steve’s thighs and settled down in his lap. He was purring and fully asleep within the minute.

“Does he always do that?” Steve asked, eyes set fondly on the cat as he patted him in long, slow strokes. Tony shrugged.

“I guess? When he’s done playing, he likes to cuddle. I usually have to get back to the shop after playtime, though, and he’s not allowed in there, so I only get to enjoy this when I’m not working.” Which wasn’t a big part of his time, if he was honest. “He loves you, though. Look at him.”

“He’s safe, fast asleep, not even listening to us.” Steve said, his tone of voice hushed. “They don’t usually sleep so deep, especially when there’s people around.”

“Well, then you’re lucky.” Tony said, smiling as he got to his feet. “I’m gonna get something to drink, want anything?” He asked.

“I’m good.” Steve answered and watched Tony leave, smiling absently after him. He figured he could do this. After all, Tony didn’t seem at all bothered by what had happened the night before, or at the prospect of having him sleep over again tonight - two nights in a row. Even Peter seemed to welcome him. He could do this, but he had to at least warn Tony.

“I’m sorry about last night.” Steve said when Tony came back into the room. “I should’ve warned you.” He explained when Tony paused to raise a brow at him. This seemed to surprise Tony. He approached Steve with a couple of glasses in one hand and a bottle of juice in the other. “You should know that sleeping next to me is potentially dangerous.” He specified eventually. Tony poured juice into both glasses and took one of them to sip from, contemplating Steve’s words.

“Explain that one and I’ll find a way to make it not as dangerous.”

“Not sure you can.” Steve said, staring at the extra glass and then looking back to Tony. “I get violent when I have nightmares, when I just wake up… I’m surprised I haven’t hurt you yet.” He admitted quietly. He reached for the glass to take a sip, not because he was thirsty, but to have something to do with his hands.

“How violent?” Tony inquired after a moment, hoping this wasn’t asking too much.

“Depends on the nightmares I get. I uh… Stopped sharing beds with my partners after the first couple of tries.” Steve paused, a pained look flashing across his face at the memory. Tony reached over to rest a hand on Steve’s shoulder, and a small smile, resigned but relieved, rose to Steve’s face. “You’d think it’s a reasonable decision to make, once you wake up with your hands round someone’s throat.”

“Wow…” Tony responded, not moving an inch back. “Did they survive it?” He asked, then bit his lip. That wasn’t very tactful, was it?

“They’re alright. I mean, were, at the time. Scared the heck out of them, but I always managed to return to reality before I could…” Steve trailed off, waving a hand vaguely and looking miserable for a second. Tony had to tighten his grip on his shoulder for a moment to get his attention back.

“Hey, look, I’ve taken self defense courses and I do martial arts these days, you won’t be able to hurt me too easily.” Tony tried to reassure.

“Provided you wake up in time.” Steve countered softly.

“Provided I wake up in time.” Tony agreed with a nod of his head.

—-

Going to bed was a bit awkward. For one, they didn’t tumble into bed kissing and making out, hands at each other’s faces and asses and any patch of skin they could reach. Instead, Steve came back from the bathroom in his pajamas and slid into bed next to Tony. It felt different. Tony greeted him with a kiss and pulled up close, hugging him. “Hi.” He purred next to Steve’s cheek, and Steve tilted his head to kiss him again. He could feel Tony was hard in his sleep-slacks, pressed intimately against his thigh.

“Hi yourself.” Steve said, shifting around until he had one knee pressed between Tony’s. “You know… I’m thinking…” He said, his voice a whisper, light tone but heavy undercurrent of something tempting. Tony gulped. “It’s been a while since you’ve been inside me.”

“Six days and three… no, two hours.” Tony answered, then paused, closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Steve’s own, stifling an embarrassed laughter even as Steve chuckled lightly, breath playing across Tony’s face. “Sorry.” He muttered, giving a slight shake of the head. “Just kind of missed it.” He reached over to grab a handful of Steve’s ass. “Not that I mind doing it the other way around, but, you know.” And it was a relief to find the smile lingering on Steve’s face when he opened his eyes.

Pulling slightly back, Steve kissed the tip of Tony’s nose and then his cheek. “I know.” He said, his expression knowing and easy. Tony was massaging his ass in sure motions, teasing fingers sneaking closer to the center with each grab. And then Tony kissed him again, a kiss full of lips and teeth and just enough tongue to make him crave more. When they parted, Tony nodded his head once in a conclusive way.

“Alright, I’ll just grab some stuff.” Tony said, motioning to the bedside drawer-case where he usually kept his condoms and, since he and Steve started seeing each other, also lotion and other toys. Steve let him go without protest and turned to pull the shirt off over his head before sliding his pajama pants down his hips. Tony shucked his pants on the way to the drawer, and after tossing a condom and the bottle of lotion in the general direction of the bed, turned to take off his shirt as well. They were both wearing no underwear under their sleep-clothes, a fact that made Tony’s smile widen considerably as he climbed back onto the bed, this time settling comfortably between Steve’s parted legs. “This how you want it?” He asked as he leaned down to cup Steve’s cheek in his hand, looking right into his eyes.

“Yeah.” Steve said. He didn’t mind other positions, really. Each was thrilling and fun and he loved indulging when there was time and a suitable partner, but sometimes he just really enjoyed watching people’s faces. It became more obvious when it was Tony, and when it was this sort of activity. Seeing Tony’s face while they were having sex was one of his favorite things. He reached up to cup the back of Tony’s neck, to pull him down for another kiss.

For a while, they kissed and rubbed against one another, enjoying the warmth that spread between them with every patch of skin that happened to touch. Steve reached down to close his fingers around Tony’s cock, and Tony’s hips rocked into the sensation. With a nip to Steve’s lower lip, he pulled back and watched the man’s face. “Wanna-” he was going to ask, but Steve squeezed him just so, forcing a moan out of him instead.

“I’m already doing it.” Steve assured him with a soft chuckle as he reached for the condom. “In the meantime…” he said, parting his legs a bit more to hint towards his meaning. Tony didn’t need more of a clue than that and fumbled for the bottle of lotion. He bit his lip as the condom was slowly rolled on his hard cock. It was tight, but not too much so - not as wonderfully tight as he knew Steve’s body could be around him.

Steve took the bottle from Tony’s hands and poured some of the substance into his own hand before giving it back. Tony watched the bottle in his hand, then at Steve’s hand closing around his clad cock, slicking him up. His breath hitched and he suddenly realized he was holding it for the longest time. He smiled sheepishly at Steve, who just looked on fondly at his face like he could never get enough of it. Tony thought his heart could burst with this emotion he was feeling, and he quickly gulped to cover up for whatever it was he was going to say. Instead, he poured some of the lotion onto his fingers and reached down between Steve’s legs. He trailed his wet fingers from under Steve’s balls and all the way to his rear, fingers circling, slicking up the area between Steve’s buttocks. “Want my fingers?” he heard himself ask. Steve shook his head.

“Nah…” Steve answered, shifting a bit to get Tony’s fingers to touch him the way he wanted before adding, “Want you.” and his hand squeezed Tony’s cock gently again, for emphasis. Tony did not need further encouragement. He smiled and trailed his fingers back up, massaging Steve’s balls for a moment before reaching higher to close his hand around Steve’s hard-on. His other hand smoothed over Steve’s belly up to his chest, then settled on the bed next to Steve’s head when Tony leaned down again to kiss him. Steve’s hand remained on Tony’s cock, guiding him, helping his aim. Before long, they were settled down, Tony buried inside as deep as he could go and Steve breathing shallowly under him, eyes clouded with something Tony liked to assume was lust. The kiss was slow and nice, and Tony remained mostly motionless to allow Steve time to adjust.

It didn’t take long before Steve started moving. At first, they were short, cautious wiggling of his ass, but soon, Tony was awed by the rhythmic undulating of Steve’s hips. Steve knew what rhythm worked for him, knew what he wanted, and wasn’t ashamed to take it while he could. Tony fell into pace with no effort at all. It was an amazing experience. Steve’s body was squeezing him with every drawback, as though regretting the loss of that hardness inside. Tony found that so incredibly hot, and was worried he might end up going off too fast. He needn’t have worried, though, because Steve was already on his way. At one point, Tony was reminded that his hand was still holding onto Steve’s cock, because Steve’s hand closed over his own and made it move in time with the rhythm they’d set.

“To-Tony I…” Steve was saying, but there wasn’t anything in particular he had to say, so he just let himself get there the next moment, a pleased groan falling from his lips as he climaxed, not even caring about the warm wetness that covered his hand and was smearing on his belly. Tony might’ve muttered something like ‘Oh thank God’ as he gave a couple of jerky thrusts and came as well, pressing them ever tighter together as he did. The air was full of their panted breaths, the smell of the lotion and sex, and a few words neither of them acknowledged.

Tony pulled himself up enough to look into Steve’s face, his smile full of awe and bliss, and Steve grinned back. “That was fun.” Tony said, and Steve made an agreeing sound. He closed his eyes and press his head back into the bed as Tony pulled out slowly.

After Tony got rid of the condom, handed Steve some tissues to clean himself up and turned to do the same on his own person, they laid down besides each other, watching the ceiling in silence. Well, at least until Tony grew weary of it.

“I love having sex with you.” Tony admitted, closing his eyes momentarily. “It’s always so… Hot, intense…” He said.

Steve was humming mildly whenever Tony paused for a moment. He was tired. The day had been taxing, he’d had a long, sleepless week, and the intense session made him feel loose and relaxed. In short, he was falling asleep. “Tony.” He said, making the man shut up for a second, “I’m falling asleep on you.”

“Oh! Alright. Let’s sleep.” Tony said, reaching to drag the blanket over and spreading it over the both of them. He was tired as well, so he didn’t really mind Steve falling asleep like this. Before either of them could drop off, they heard the tell-tale scritch-scratch of Peter’s claws at the door, and before long, they had a cat sprawled over their shared blanket.

—-

A sudden jolt of panic jerked Tony out of his slumber. He flailed his arms for a moment, disoriented and tangled in the sheet he’d been using to cover his nakedness after the pleasant bedtime activity, and then he hit the floor. It took just a second, but he realized he’d fallen off the bed - that had not happened in years - and sat up. Then what had happened dawned on him.

“Steve?” he asked, carefully peering over the edge of the bed to see the man sitting upright, panting heavily and looking… Ashamed. Steve’s head turned towards him, sad eyes meeting his own, and he seemed at a loss of words. Luckily, Tony had enough to fill in the gaps. “Oh Steve…” He said, climbing back onto the bed, ignoring a wince on the way. He’d hit his ass when he fell. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” He tried to console the man, but Steve was shaking his head.

“It’s not safe for you to sleep next to me.” Steve said, jerking away when Tony touched his arm. “Don’t. I’m still…” he said, waving his hand vaguely. Tony sat back, watching Steve helplessly for a moment before lowering his gaze. At least he wasn’t too badly hurt by the incident.

“Jarvis, time. Also, find Peter.” Tony requested, looking genuinely surprised that the cat was not in the room anymore. The time flickered on over the bedside table and Tony sighed for a moment. “You know, I’m not even supposed to be asleep at these hours.” He said, eyes turning back to Steve. “We’re up, might as well do something about it. Want to see where I work?” He asked. “I could give you the mansion tour on the way…” A small diagram of the mansion appeared next to the clock with a red dot marking Peter’s location at his playroom. The dot was motionless, so Tony figured the cat was asleep. Much like how he would like to be at that moment, he mused, but then shoved the thought aside.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, hesitation heavy in his voice. “I mean.. I’ve just literally pushed you off your own bed. Aren’t you even a little bit upset about it?”

“Sir, there seems to be something wrong with your feline companion.” Jarvis interrupted before Tony could answer Steve’s question. Both men lifted their heads towards the ceiling, then looked at one another. They scrambled out of bed within seconds, throwing on their pajama pants. Tony confirmed once more that Peter’s red dot remained in the playroom. They rushed over to check on him, but when they got to the room, the cat jumped at the sound of their footsteps and the door opening, and made a soft mewling sound that sounded like a question.

“Oh we woke him up… Sorry Pete, carry on.” Tony said, waving his hand and scowling at the ceiling as he retreated from the room. Peter gave them an unimpressed look and stretched. “Jarvis.”

“Sir.”

“Your sensors are calibrated to detect sleep in all living organisms.”

“Indeed.”

“You get five points for the attempt, but minus a hundred for subtlety.” Tony said after a moment of thought, making Steve laugh reluctantly. They retreated from the room to avoid waking Peter up completely, and instead relocated to the kitchen. Tony absently rubbed his sore ass cheek on the way, only to pause when Steve’s hand rested over his own. He looked over and sighed when he took note of the sadness in Steve’s eyes. “I need coffee.” He said, as if that was enough explanation as to why he hadn’t answered Steve’s question yet.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys hey hey do you remember this? This long ass fanfic I’ve been writing for a couple of months and then stopped updating suddenly due to a severe case of RL? WELL GUESS WHAT! =D!
> 
> There is actually more, but I thought I’d keep myself ahead. The plot is advancing at a nice pace, I hope all y’all will like what I’m doing~ Thank you for all your comments so far!

 

 

Tony never got to make that coffee. Steve had wrapped his arms around him from behind on the way to the kitchen and guided him back to the bedroom instead. “Just because you’re usually up at this hour, doesn’t mean you should be." Steve said as gently as he could. He suspected Tony was the kind that couldn’t maintain a normal sleep schedule.

"If you’re planning to try and domesticate me you better stop now, doc." Tony retorted but let himself be guided to the bedroom. “Are you gonna sleep, too?" he asked, sending a sided glance at Steve. There was no reply for a long moment, and eventually Steve lowered his head to press a kiss to the side of Tony’s neck.

"You don’t happen to have an extra bedroom, do you?" He murmured against Tony’s skin.

"I do, but you’re not going to sleep in another bed when you’re sleeping over, are you kidding me?" Tony grumbled. The bedroom door closed behind them and Steve pulled back, lowering his gaze. “We are going to go back to sleep. Together. In my bed."

"That’s insane, Tony. I’ll probably hurt you." Steve said, tone of voice low and bitter. Tony grabbed both his wrists and pulled, as though the physical contact would bring Steve’s attention back to him, would drive him out of the shell he’d gotten himself into.

"I’ll have Jarvis monitor your REM sleep cycles, we’ll figure out how to predict this… thing." Tony said, staring at Steve’s face earnestly. “Come on, I’m not made of glass!"

"No, you’re made of skin and muscles and fragile bones. It doesn’t take much to break you, trust me." Steve deadpanned. Tony dropped both of Steve’s wrists like he’d been thunderstruck. The slack-jawed stare was doubled with hurt and anger. Steve lowered his gaze again and, for lack of what to do with his hands, clasped them together. The full meaning of what the mind of a soldier was made of hit Tony square in the stomach. They’d talked about it in passing before, but he’d never realized how easily Steve could kill a man until that exact moment.

"You asked me earlier why I wasn’t upset." Tony said, eyes still set on Steve. “Still wanna know?"

"Yeah…"

"It’s because I didn’t get particularly hurt, but also because I put myself there. Do you understand?" Tony paused, but Steve still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I got a fair warning from you, but I went for it anyway, so of course I’m not upset." Another pause, Steve’s shoulders squared, but there was still no other reaction. “And I’d to do it again and again, if you let me."

"Dr. Rogers, Sir." Jarvis spoke, hesitation lacing his voice. Steve glanced sideways, surprised that the AI addressed them during this loaded conversation. “If I may interrupt, would you like to see my documented records of your sleep-disturbances?" The holographic projector set in the bedside table lit, showing a graph with several peaks. “If we are to judge by the last two instances, it is quite easy to predict when a disturbance is about to occur, lending me enough time to alert Mr. Stark."

"Will it give me enough time to get out of the way?" Tony asked, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. Sometimes, Jarvis’ tendency to nose into his business was annoying, but this time it was a good call.

"I believe it will, sir." Jarvis’ voice was bland and confident.

"I thought your AI was supposed to make sure you didn’t make stupid decisions." Steve muttered in slight confusion, hands still clasped together.

"Steve… How long have you known me?" Tony asked, an edge of earnest amusement in his tone. “Do you really think a body-less entity can stop me from doing whatever I want? Jarvis here makes sure that while I make the stupid decisions, I don’t get myself accidentally killed. It’s in the core of his his programming." He raised his hand in a wide motion, as if to point at Jarvis. Steve looked to Tony at last, a long look, followed by a sigh.

"You’re impossible to say no to, did you know that?" Steve conceded at last, the smallest smile threatening to stretch his lips at the corners. Tony’s only response was a wide grin and a gesture beckoning Steve towards the bed.

~~

Despite his reservations, Steve ended up sleeping solidly for the next three hours until his alarm clock went off. He started awake, as he usually did, but Tony, who was lying right next to him and looking exceptionally peaceful, didn’t seem to mind or even notice it. Steve let out a slow, measured breath. He was safe. No midnight ambush, no blitz, no sudden attacks, just Tony’s warm, living body next to him and the dim lights lining the floor along the walls. He listened to Tony’s even breathing for a moment, eyes closed to better hear it, and noticed an extra kind of sound. A cat purring. Steve found himself smiling softly. So Peter came by after they went to bed again, huh.

"Steve?" Tony mumbled when Steve shifted, moving the bed. His voice was uneven and sleep ridden, and utterly endearing.

"Yes, Tony?" Steve asked, rolling onto his feet and stretching. He heard the bed-sheets shifting behind him and tilted his head.

"Wha’ time ‘sit…." Tony asked, turning over to look at his bedside table, which immediately lit with the hour in digital clock numbers. “Oh God Steve… Why are you even up at this hour?" Tony moaned, turning over and burying his nose in the pillow.

"Morning jog. Been neglecting it for a while…" Steve said, turning around to look at Tony, and taking in the look of him. He was laying half diagonally on the bed, face buried in the pillow Steve had used, the blanket they’d been snuggled under until a moment ago was riding high up his legs and low down his back, only covering Tony’s ass and a bit of his left thigh. If Steve hadn’t been serious about workout, he’d stay and trace every last bit of exposed skin with his fingers and tongue, and then slowly reveal more. As things were, though, if he wanted to keep in shape, he had to get back to his routine. “I’ll be back in about an hour."

"And then you’ll get ready for work and leave me here, alone, again." Tony said, his tone displeased but resigned to his fate all the same.

"And after work, I’ll take you to dinner." Steve said, though there was more of a question, an offer, to the way he’d said it. Tony lifted his head from the pillow to look at him for a moment, his expression blank. It took but a moment, but even that was dragging on Steve’s nerves in a way he’d never expected it to.

"Alright." Tony finally said, giving Steve a small smile before letting his head drop down on the pillow again. “Now go before I wake up enough to seduce you." He half ordered. Steve chuckled at the touch of petulant displeasure in Tony’s voice and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"Okay, Tony. I’ll see you in a little while."

~~

Steve had to ignore the contemplative look Bucky was giving him. Well, he tried to, at least, until the tension became too heavy to bear. “What is it, Bucky?" He asked tiredly.

"Nothing." Bucky answered, looking away from Steve and back to the computer screen. Steve was sorting through their medication cabinet, checking for expiration dates on everything and listing things they were short on. “Just thinking that you look well rested." He mused, then tilted his head towards the computer, “and that your boyfriend is insane."

"What’d he do now?" Steve asked absently as he made a face at one tube of anti-bacterial lotion that’s way over its expiry date. He sighed, then looked towards Bucky when no answer came.

"You won’t believe it."

"Try me."

"He shut down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries." Bucky said casually, reaching for his glass of water to sip from it as Steve tossed everything he had in his hands onto the counter and marched over.

"What do you mean shut down-" Steve asked, staring at the computer screen that was currently showing what he assumed was a press conference broadcast. “But…" Steve stood back, staring at the handsome face he’d become so familiar with smiling emptily at the cameras and throwing up peace signs. A bolded ‘Stark Industries to Close Weapons Development and Manufacturing’ banner rolled along the bottom of the screen and Steve reached up to scratch at the side of his head in confusion. “But that’s what Stark Industries  _does_ , how is he expecting to stay in business?"

"How would I know? He’s your boyfriend." Bucky answered with a shrug. Steve continued to gape at the screen for a long moment, then shook his head. He was going to have a lot to talk to Tony about when they were to meet for dinner.

"Are you done with the medications? Our afternoon appointments are about to start." Bucky asked as he stood, closing the browser and going to clean his glass.

"Pretty much. We’re out of some stuff so I’m going to place an order in a little bit. Do you think we’ll need anything else?" Steve asked, shifting to review his list for a moment. Bucky took the list from Steve. There was a broom in his other hand and he leaned some of his weight on it.

"I think it’s always good to have a few extra Rabies shots and antiseptic. Otherwise it looks good. Oh! And therapeutic food." Bucky suggested, handing the list back to Steve and going to finish clean up in the examination room. Steve scribbled in the extra supplies and turned to place the order.

~~

The stream of clients was easy, well spaced. No one had to stand in the small waiting-area. Steve liked these days, the quiet atmosphere and minimum stress. There were no emergency cases to speak of, and he even got to meet the Kaplans’ boy with Teddy for a check-up.

"You’re the happiest dog I’ve ever seen at the vet’s." Billy muttered when he stepped through the clinic’s doors, his ever loveable furry companion not far behind. Teddy looked around the clinic before making his way to the same spot he occupied back when he was recovering.

"Wait-!" Bucky exclaimed as the dog barged into the examination room, where Steve was currently running a physical check on a cat that, upon the dog’s appearance, screeched and latched onto Steve painfully.

"Ow." Steve sighed and turned to remove the cat from his clothes one paw at the time. “Billy, it’s great to see Teddy but… could you hold him in the waiting room until we’re done here?" Steve requested, glancing apologetically at the elderly lady that stood opposite of him.

It was too late, but Billy managed to grab hold of Teddy’s leash and pull him back. “Heh, sorry about that…" He muttered and closed the door behind him. Teddy’s tail was still wagging, even when Billy glared at him. "Bad dog."  
Forcing himself to not pay the ashamed whine the dog made too much attention, Billy pulled Teddy towards the seats and plopped down on a chair.

"Don’t worry about it, it happens almost every day. Dogs love Cap." Bucky said, though he seemed to give Teddy a scolding look. “Can I get you something while you wait?" He asked. The waiting room was empty save for Billy and Teddy, so Bucky could and did give them his full attention.

"Ah, no, I’m fine, thanks." Billy smiled before looking back at Teddy, who was sitting down and seeming ashamed of himself. Billy couldn’t really stand seeing the dog like this, though, and so he patted his thigh, to which Teddy responded by resting his head over Billy’s knee. There, better, the teen thought and patted the dog.

Bucky had to smile at their antics. He moved over to go into the examination room, to see if Steve needed assistance or disinfectants for the scratches. “Need anything?"

"No, I think we’re done here. Missy is fine, it was just that the internal eye-protection got stuck and Rachel was worried." Steve answered, smiling at the woman who was now tucking Missy back into her basket. “Help her at the counter while I look at Teddy, okay?" He requested, ushering the lady towards the waiting room, then waving Billy over with a beaming smile on his face.

Billy could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat, but he wasn’t certain if it was because of Steve, or because Teddy jumped to his feet at the sight of the man. Thankfully, he managed to hold him back this time, sparing the old lady another scare from his dog.   
"Sorry about earlier, Dr. Rogers." Billy smiled awkwardly as he ushered Teddy into the examination room, keeping Teddy close. The dog on his part kept trying to sniff Steve, quite excited at meeting the man again.

"Oh it’s alright. Dogs can get so excitable…" Steve reassured, taking the leash from Billy and crouching next to Teddy. “How are you doing big boy? Get over that limp of yours?" Steve asked, immediately starting his examination of the dog - first visually, then with gentle prodding and touching. “How’s he eating?" He asked absently.

"Like a dinosaur, by the metric-ton." Billy huffed and looked down at where Teddy’s wagging tail was hitting his foot repeatedly. “He walks alright, but we still don’t let him up the stairs. Maybe in a week or two though, we take him out for long walks so he’s pretty much back in shape." He frowned then. “He keeps headbutting me when I fall behind on our jogs."  
Quite at ease, Teddy looked back at where Steve was poking, and occasionally sniffed at his arms.

"Oh you big baby, I’ll give you a treat when we’re done." Steve scolded the dog half heartedly before patting him and getting to his feet. “Well, by the looks of it, you might be able to have that trip up the stairs a week early, if he keeps getting better at this rate." Steve informed. “I’m assuming he goes as easy as he eats, correct?"

"Yeah, he keeps us cleaning up after him." Billy winced. “But at least it means he’s all better, right?" He asked, obviously hopeful.

"It definitely means he’s doing well." Steve affirmed and turned to grab a can of food from the refrigerator because Teddy was headbutting his thigh again. “Okay okay, you impatient thing." Steve grumbled fondly and grabbed for a plastic plate. He emptied the food onto the plate and set it on the ground next to Teddy’s legs. “Tell you what." Steve said, looking to Billy. “If he doesn’t tire out after an intense walk, including a light run, you can try and show him up the stairs."

Teddy let out a happy pant before he began consuming the offered treat, tail wagging violently from side to side. Billy watched him with a fond smile.  
"I’ll do that. I’m sure he‘ll be thrilled, he seems to like my room."

"I’m sure he does. Take it one step at a time, okay?" Steve said, wiping his hands on his pants and looking around to see if he was forgetting anything. “I think we’re done here for now." He finally said and gestured to the door. “I’ll see you two to the door."

Billy nodded and looked down to find Teddy licking his lips and looking from one to the other, eyes shining brightly.  
"…he wants seconds. ‘Fraid not, Ted. C’mon, time to go." Billy snickered and took Teddy’s leash before pulling him after Steve.

When the door opened, Steve walked over to the counter and grabbed the box of patients’ cards. Bucky was sitting at the computer, and he turned to Steve as soon as he was close enough. “You know what’s weird, though?" Steve paused his search for Teddy’s card and turned to Bucky with a questioning look. “You’ve been seeing him for a little over a month now, and yet… If I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t have known. Isn’t that odd?" Bucky asked, watching Steve closely.

"It’s…" Steve tried saying, surprised at the sudden question, which seemed completely unrelated. He looked up hastily to check if Billy was in earshot distance and turned an annoyed look back to Bucky. He didn’t appreciate talking about personal issues when customers were present.

"Not even a picture, Rogers. Doesn’t this smell funny to you? The guy has press following him everywhere, doesn’t he?" Bucky pressed.

"Well… Not really." Steve said. “And we never really get to hang out together in public." Which was not exactly true, but given the times they found themselves hanging out together were not standard for most people, that might’ve been a plausible explanation. Considering Tony’s PA, who sometimes called when they were together, though, maybe there was more to it than just luck.

The conversation seemed interesting enough for one curious dog to butt in, headbutting Steve’s legs again. He was given a bit more freedom of movement, seeing how Billy was momentarily lost in his own world. He recovered soon enough though and pulled Teddy closer.  
"Uh, is there anything you need me to sign, or can we go?" He asked, not quite managing to keep bitterness out of his voice. Oh, he heard, alright. More than he ever cared to know.

The glare Steve sent Bucky then could only mean ‘there will be words later, and you will not enjoy it at all.’ A sigh left him, and he turned to Billy. “No, that’s all. I’ll write down Teddy’s progress in his card. Say hi to your mom for me." Steve said with a wave at Billy.

Billy waved back and despite Teddy’s sad whining, took him and left the clinic.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was an interesting case of writing gone wrong. I (and every person reading this, really) have only smiledesu to thank for pointing out my huge mess-up in time for me to fix it. 
> 
> I’m hoping for sexy timez next chapter~

 

Dinner was set to be in yet another small establishment Tony knew very well. Steve had opted to go for places Tony recommended, if only for the fact that Tony was very mistrusting towards new places, and it saved a lot of trouble. They met there, Steve carrying a bag with a couple more clothes. There hadn’t been any declaration of intentions from either of them, but since Tony seemed eager to have him sleep over, and Steve, though worried for Tony’s safety, both needed the comfort of his presence and the sleep hours it guaranteed, it seemed he was half moving over to Tony’s place. He found he minded it very little. Tony waved him over when he finally came in view.

"Hey doc! How was your day?" Tony asked when Steve pulled close. He leaned in to greet Steve with a kiss, but paused when he saw the look on his face. “Oh come on… Don’t give me that look. I know what I’m doing." Tony said confidently.

"I’m sure you do." Steve answered, “but I’m still worried." He admitted. When he looked around suspiciously, Tony chuckled and dragged him into the restaurant by the wrist.

"What is it, Steve? Worried we’ll get caught?" Tony teased, making Steve frown. Yes, Tony was usually cheerful, or at least on the noisy side of good spirits, but this was a man who’d just announced the cessation of his main business, and he didn’t seem in the least bit unhappy about it. “I lost the camera people right after the press conference and although my phone keeps- Hold on." Tony said, shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He pulled at one of the corners of the flashing bit of technology and the device went dark. Tony turned an apologetic smile at Steve. “Battery detachment for guaranteed quiet. Where was I?"

Steve led Tony to a table and sat down with an exasperated smile on his face. “You were telling me why there’s no way we’re going to get caught kissing outside." He said when Tony sat down too. “And I was going to ask about-" Steve said when Tony spoke over him.

"Oh right, yes. No we won’t get caught, this place is a hundred percent safe." Tony said, making Steve raise an eyebrow at him. It felt like there was something Tony was trying to hide, or that he was trying to divert the conversation from the big news of the day. “Is this working at all?" Tony asked, waving his hand at his own face to indicate what he meant, and Steve shook his head.

"Does it look like it’s working?" Steve asked, quirking a small smile.

"Not at all." Tony said, waving over a waitress. “Tell you what, we’ll order, and then you can ask whatever you want." The waitress arrived and Steve nodded once. They placed their orders, and then Tony settled comfortably in his chair. “My side of the deal is that I don’t answer anything I can’t answer yet, and we don’t discuss it after this until it’s time."

"That’s… actually not fair. Besides, it only makes it clearer you’re hiding something." Steve said plainly. Tony nodded his head like it was obvious.

"Of course, I’m not trying to deny that. I’m just…" Trailing off, Tony glanced at the windowpane of the restaurant before dragging his gaze back to Steve. “Not yet. But hey, ask, maybe it’s stuff I can answer. I don’t want to keep you in the dark if I can help it." He said, which sounded honest enough to Steve. Lowering his gaze to watch his fingers tapping the table, Steve took a breath, then looked to Tony.

"So uh. Why? Why did you do it?"

"Ah, but that’s the most difficult question, isn’t it?" Tony answered, closing his eyes with a ghost of a smile on his lips. “I’ll tell you why, or as much of the reason as I can afford to, right now." Because he was honestly terrified of telling Steve that he’d dug into his past and that he knew just about anything and everything related the attack and Peggy and what happened after. Steve seemed to accept this as a temporary solution, so Tony just went on. “A couple of years ago, back when I was stupid and rash and in a committed relationship with alcohol," He started, measuring Steve’s response and noting the tightening jaw and sharp look he was given. “I was betrayed by one of the people closest to me." Steve’s hand clenched into a fist and Tony reached over to put his own hand over Steve’s until it relaxed again. “It’s okay, he’s… not around anymore. Maybe I’ll tell you the full story someday." Maybe… and maybe not. “The point is, one of the things he did was to double-deal with my tech - my weapons - and I got a bit paranoid." There was a pause, Tony figured he did this to let Steve say something, or maybe he just wanted to catch his breath.

"I… well. This is highly confidential, but what I did was enforce a policy where all the weapons manufactured by Stark Industries were to have trackers in them-"

"What?! That’s insane!" Steve exclaimed. He was very obviously outraged by that revelation. “What if enemy forces were to find out about this? Or worse!" He stared into mid-distance, imagining scenarios. “What if they figure out how to hack the trackers?! They’ll know exactly what the layout of the forces out on the field is!" He seemed shocked and appalled. Tony squeezed his hand.

"That’s exactly what the higher ups in the military said." He answered, smiling slightly. “That’s why it’s confidential and I’m only telling you this for the purpose of answering your question. Besides, don’t underestimate my security protocols." There was an edge of a playful threat there. Steve gave him a skeptical look, but decided to let it slide for the moment. Tony took this as an okay to carry on. “So as I said, trackers. And remote detonators. I didn’t want my weapons to fall into the wrong hands. I wanted to be responsible for the goods I make. You know, to make sure no US soldier would have my weapons aimed at them." There was a hitch in Steve’s features Tony would’ve missed if he hadn’t been looking closely, but he said nothing about it. “And that was the compromise I agreed for, at the time, instead of shutting down weapons-manufacturing back then. My PA was ready to hang me off the tallest tree for even suggesting that, back then." He chuckled. Steve made a face, but didn’t interrupt.

Tony sighed, but then shook his head. “So that brings me to your question - why did I close this side of my company? Because I should’ve done it back then, and it’s far too late now, but it’s better than never. It was a condition I’d put in place back then, and that condition was broken. That’s all." Tony finished. As he glanced up to Steve, the waitress arrived with their meals. Steve watched him carefully the whole time it took for the waitress to set the food down on the table, and Tony was sure Steve had figured him out, but when she left, Steve only sighed.

"So what are you going to do now? It was your main business venue, wasn’t it?" Was the next question Steve asked, and Tony beamed at him. This, he could answer easily.

"Well, there’s a few new directions I’ve been planning to take regardless of weapons dealings, and now that the exploding stuff is out, I can put my mind into it. There’s the tablets and phones I’ve made for myself that I’m going to take into prototyping for mass production soon, and there’s something I’d love to show you when it’s done. It’s based on my old man’s tech, but far more advanced and compact-" Tony paused to hold back his enthusiasm because Steve looked like he was about to burst into laughter. “What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Steve said, still holding down his laughter. “I was just… I was worried you were going to just stop, but it’s a relief to see you’ve still got a lot to do even without the weaponry." He was genuinely pleased. “I’d love to see your new tech, but…" He glanced at their plates with their cooling meals. “Maybe we should finish dinner before we pick up this conversation."

~~

That night, Steve found himself lying in bed next to Tony again. They were a bit too full to do anything beyond wearing pajamas and slipping into bed, but Tony’d promised to make up for it in the morning, even when Steve shook his head and said they didn’t have to do anything. Now Tony was snoring softly next to Steve, and Steve had his arms folded under his head as he watched the ceiling in the dim light of the room. Peter had joined them a few minutes ago and was currently curled up at the curve of Tony’s knees. Steve could feel the light weight pulling on the blanket.

It bothered him that Tony was hiding something from him, if he were completely honest here. He’d taken the understanding approach when Tony made it clear he couldn’t talk about whatever it was just yet. Steve guessed, not baselessly, that it had to do with him, and it worried him. He knew that if he thought about it, he’s likely to figure out what had made Tony do the things he did, but maybe, if Tony didn’t want him to know yet, it was better to not think about it? Steve closed his eyes with a sigh. He couldn’t really not think about it. Logically speaking, it would make little sense for Tony to suddenly have a reason to close the weapons department, considering what the genius  _did_  tell him of what had made him almost close it before. Somehow, Tony had found out about Peggy, didn’t he? Tony knew, and apparently it was such a shock, that he decided to do this.

It was the only logical solution to this equation. And Tony didn’t want Steve to know he knew. Why would Tony be so keen on keeping this information from Steve? That one was easy. He’d gotten the information in a way he thought Steve would disapprove of. In terms of technological advancement, Tony was at the cutting edge. If anyone could get whatever information they needed or wanted to get, it was probably this man sleeping right next to Steve. The thought made Steve shake his head with a frown on his face. So Tony did a background check on him. And now he was scared it would make Steve angry.

Steve turned to glance at the back of Tony’s head, peeking from the blanket adorably. He couldn’t blame him, really. It was a pretty severe privacy breach, and all the more unfair, because Steve couldn’t do the same. All he knew about Tony he’s heard from the guy himself, and some he got through the news - but that was never anything he trusted much. And here, peacefully asleep and oblivious, Tony knew pretty much everything important there was to know about Steve’s past. Steve was pretty sure Tony’d have read everything he could put his hands on if he did. But Tony wasn’t stupid, either, and while he’d have no solid idea how Steve might react, he’d still know well enough that this was not an acceptable, normal way of doing things.

For a moment, Steve let himself contemplate this. Was he angry? Was he upset? How did he feel about this? The frown deepened. He wasn’t happy about it, that much he knew. If for no other reason than for the fact Tony was hiding this from him cowardly instead of facing what he did like the grown up he’s supposed to be. Why. Why. Steve mulled the question over in his head. An idea finally came forth. They only knew each other for a couple of months now, and they’ve only been together for a little over a month. Maybe Tony was waiting for the right time? Maybe they’d have to live together for a while before Tony could trust that Steve cared enough to not walk away over a background check, regardless of how angry he might get over it?

Finally, a resigned smile found its way to Steve’s lips. Yes, he felt exposed in a not too pleasant way, that was true, but it was bound to come out sooner or later, and perhaps it was better that he didn’t have to actually talk about it with Tony just yet. He couldn’t think of a way that conversation was going to go nicely or smoothly. Turning on his side, Steve slid closer to Tony, minding the cat as he did. He kissed the top of Tony’s head and buried his face in the side of Tony’s neck as his arm slung over Tony’s waist to hug him close. Now that he was almost sure of what was going on, he could set these thoughts aside for a while and relax enough to sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes yes, your eyes do not mislead you. Since I’ve lost my job, I’ve had exponentially more time to sleep, and therefore much more time to write!
> 
> To those who have been following this story for the ages it’s been taking me so far - THANK YOU. Your voiced and voiceless support is what keeps me going. 
> 
> Proof-reading credit goes to smiledesu. 
> 
> This is a filler chapter, the first part of two-to-three filler chapters I’ve been planning to do at this point, partially for plot purposes but mostly to torture my lovely readers with cute!feels and some domestic scenery, though unfortunately the sex escaped me. I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway~

 

Later, Bruce will blame it on the rain. Will blame it on his distractedness as he was looking for the correct address. Who was really to blame, though, were the people who’d chased the poor thing into the road. All Bruce heard was a small thud. He would’ve ignored it, but he instinctively stopped the car and looked around. A couple of people ran up to the sidewalk, looked at the front of his car, then turned around and ran off, with matching grins on their faces. It made Bruce suspicious, and he got out of the car to check if there was anything there. 

There was something indeed. Bruce rushed to the pathetic pile’s side, worry streaking his face. He couldn’t have been going more than ten miles an hour, but the dog laid mostly motionless save for the slight shaking, and the look it gave him was frightened and resigned. There was no time to waste, Bruce thought, and reached for the dog’s face carefully. While he didn’t want to get bitten, he had to make sure he could touch and carry the dog without being attacked. The dog remained motionless as Bruce ran his fingers along the side of its head. There didn’t seem to be any external injury - no blood to be seen, but Bruce knew better than to let it be. “You poor thing…" He muttered to the dog, then took off his jacket and covered its bulk when he realized the rain was soaking its fur. “Let’s get you to a vet." He suggested. It was a medium sized dog, but Bruce managed to carry it into the car. 

There was a whimper, and Bruce studied the dog’s face closely as he set it in the back seat. He thought he spotted sadness there, but since he wasn’t very dog-literate, he didn’t know if they could even convey emotions. A flash of something grabbed his attention. The dog’s purple collar had a small rhombus plate which said ‘Jenny’ in pretty cursive. It caught Bruce by surprise. He took a second look at the dog again. It definitely hadn’t looked like a female at first glance, but Bruce soon smiled gently. “Hi Jenny. Don’t worry. I’ll take you to a good veterinarian and they’ll treat you well." He said, pulling back and closing the door. He settled into the driver’s seat and pulled out his phone as he shifted into gear and resumed driving. It was his luck that there was hardly anyone out to notice he’d stopped in the middle of the road. 

"Stark. Call Stark." Bruce told his phone. A pleasant British voice answered in near robotic intonation. “Ringing."  

"Bruce! What’s up old man? Suddenly remember you’ve friends in the high-" 

"Tony you own a cat, don’t you?" Bruce cut in.

"I do indeed. Why the sudden interest? Whenever I tell you about him you-"

"I hit a dog, with my car, I need a vet. Can you give me directions to your vet boyfriend?" 

"Jesus man! How did that happen? I’m sending coordinates for your GPS, just press it and it’ll load. You better tell me everything when you’re done saving him."

"Her. Thanks, Tony." 

~~

The phone call came in at around five thirty eight in the afternoon. Steve was just done disinfecting his equipment and Bucky was out for the night. Steve pulled his phone out and answered. “Rogers." 

"Babe, there’s a good friend of mine on his way over, should be there in about fifteen minutes." Tony said urgently. 

"Oh?" Steve questioned, setting down his tools and glancing at the waiting area before getting to his feet. “What happened?" 

"He hit a dog with his car and he needs help saving her. You do everything you can for her, Steve. It’s on me." Tony said, and silence fell on the line. When no response came, Tony made a small sound. “Steve?" 

"Must be a good friend of yours." Steve said, fondness in his voice.

"Oh one of the best, and I don’t have many of those." Tony answered. 

"I will do what I can, Tony, but a car accident… There’s bound to be a lot of damage." Steve warned. He didn’t want to get Tony’s hopes up. 

"I know that… Just… Do what you can. He doesn’t deserve that on his conscience." 

"Okay, Tony." Steve assured.

"His name is Bruce Banner, you won’t miss him. Drives an old Fiat. He’s about my size and wears thick rimmed glasses. And he’s awkward so be nice." 

"Thank you for telling me how to handle people, Tony. I’m sure I would not have been able to figure it out myself." Steve taunted, chuckling. 

"Smartass." Tony said, but there was no bite in it. “Call me when you’re done, I’ll pick you up." 

"I will."

"Good. So, laters, Doc." 

Steve pulled the phone from his ear and watched the call disconnect, then the screen went dark. He sighed. Another emergency, huh? He set about preparing the examination room for the ordeal. When all was in place, he stepped out of the clinic, just in time to see a small Fiat parking outside and a dark haired man stumbling out of it. 

"Mr. Banner?" Steve asked, keeping his posture easy as the man started and looked up. 

"Dr. Banner, actually. But you can call me Bruce. I take it Tony already told you everything." Bruce said after the initial surprise. He opened the back seat door and reached to pat the dog. 

"Not everything, really. Mind if I take a look?" Steve asked, still keeping his distance. Bruce pulled back from the car and gestured. 

"Go right ahead, Dr…" 

"Rogers. Steve, if you like." Steve answered, smiling at Bruce before he took the few steps forward it took, and crouched next to the car. “So what can you tell me about the situation, Bruce?" Steve asked pleasantly. Hmm… Light brown Amstaff, female, shock but no external wounds, no signs of system-failure. He pulled out a flashlight from his robe’s jacket.

"Well I was looking for a place… I was going slow but I think she was chased into the road, I never saw her, but the people chasing her turned tail as soon as they saw it happen so I went to check." Bruce explained. Steve in the meantime checked for eye-reflex, then put the flashlight away. “She looked sad…" Bruce said in a very quiet voice. Steve made a sound of recognition and leaned into the car.

"Come’on girl, you’re gonna be just fine. I’ve nice treats and painkillers and dry towels." Steve said soothingly to the dog as he collected her out of the car. “Close up here and come inside? I’ll fix you some tea." Steve told Bruce, and when the man waved him on, he took that as a yes and went back to the clinic. The dog rested her head on his shoulder and watched Bruce over it. 

~~

"The good news is, she’s in top shape." Steve announced to Bruce when he was done with his initial examination. “Her front leg worries me, so we’re going to x-ray it, but otherwise I found no internal injuries, no head trauma. She’s just…" He glanced at her face, lips pulled down at the corners in troubled thought, “Well, we’ll have to check why she’s so quiet once we check her leg. Let me just call my partner-" 

"Oh I uh…" Bruce pushed his glasses up his nose nervously, “I have some uh.. experience with x-ray imaging. Maybe I can help?" He pulled the towel that was resting around his shoulders closer over himself. Steve regarded him shortly, then shrugged. 

"Okay, that’ll be faster, I guess." 

Seeing as Bruce had said he had x-ray imaging experience, Steve thought it would be nice to share his findings when they were done. “See here? there’s a fracture there. I knew there was something wrong because she reacted when I touched it. At least it’s not fully broken." Steve said, marking Bruce’s repeated nodding of the head next to him. “I’ll set it, but she’ll need care and attention for a few weeks." Steve explained. He was reluctant to go back to spending nights at the clinic, but there didn’t seem to be much choice. 

"Well, can you find her owners?" Bruce mused, and Steve sighed. He probably could, but what good will it make? Owners rarely came for their lost dogs, especially when there was a medical bill attached. 

"Keep an eye on her." Steve requested and went to get the chip reader. He scanned her for a couple of minutes, but there was no chip to be found. “Officially? This girl is a stray." Steve said, setting the device aside and frowning at the dog. Bruce was patting her all that while, looking thoughtful, and she seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"What now?" Bruce asked. He didn’t seem inclined to leave before he knew what would become of the dog. Steve in the meantime started to pull out the supplies to set the fractured leg. 

"Now I treat her leg, then I figure out how bad her emotional state is, and then I call my partner to see if he can babysit her tonight or if it’s up to me." Steve said around a sigh as he started working on the dog’s leg. Bruce seemed to contemplate that, then, with a mumbled ‘excuse me’, he left the examination room. Steve only hummed as he wrapped the dog’s leg, but she whimpered at the loss of Bruce’s hand on her head.

~~

"And then?" Tony asked over the edge of a coffee mug. He and Steve were lounging in his spacious living room. News flashed on the screen but the sound was off, allowing for easy conversation. 

"Well," Steve said, moving from Tony’s left foot to his right, rubbing in sure, slow presses at the arc of the foot and then at the base of his toes. “By the time I was done with Jenny, Dr. Banner came back and asked me if I minded letting his girlfriend be a foster mom until Jenny got better, and then we could see what to do with her." He explained. “I figured a nice warm house would be much better for her than the clinic. She was very friendly, I think you would’ve liked her."

"Didn’t you say she was unresponsive?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow before his eyes fell closed at a particularly well placed press of a knuckle into the flesh of his foot. “mm yeah baby, if you’re trying to distract me…"

"She was, but after I gave her some food and after Bruce and I took her for a short walk, she opened up some." Steve answered, running his hand up Tony’s shin. “People don’t appreciate how adorable a good-natured Amstaff can be." The smile on Steve’s face was soft and warm as he spoke, and Tony poked his side with his free foot. 

"Your dog-person is showing." Tony cautioned, making Steve laugh. 

"Yeah well… I’m going to visit her next week, and I was hoping you’d join me." Steve said, glancing over to Tony once the laughter subsided.

"Since when do you do house calls?" 

"Since we opened the clinic. Not all our patients can be brought in, you know." 

Tony seemed to contemplate that, then he put the coffee mug away and moved over to wrap his arms around Steve. “I’ll see if I can squeeze you into my tight schedule." He purred, enjoying the way Steve leaned into the hug.

"You’re the only guy who can make that kind of statement sound obscene, did you know that?" Steve tried for a reproachful tone, but ended up more breathy than he’d intended.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So still on a writing spree. All the better really. I’ve the rest of this fic pretty much planned out and isn’t that a relief huh? 
> 
> This chapter is part of a 3-chapter filler I’ve been planning together with smiledesu for a while now. I call it a filler but there ARE some plot-relevant pieces here. I hope you’ll enjoy~
> 
> Also thank you all for your lovely comments! Apologies if I haven't answered yours, I will probably get to it sooner or later.

 

The forecast had warned that by nightfall the storm would be upon the city. It was Bucky’s turn to stick around till evening, and while Steve worried about him, Bucky simply waved him off and told him to scram. “It’s just a storm," he’d joked, “I promise I won’t try to brave it if it gets bad."

"And if no one comes in by seven, just close up and go home, Buck. It’s not like they don’t have our numbers." Steve ordered, pulling on his coat and a hat.

"Sure thing, Cap. Have a nice evening." Bucky answered, waving him off with a smile.

Things have been relaxed, easy. Steve’s been coming home to Tony over the past couple of months, until at one point Tony had told him they might as well admit that he’d moved in to Stark Mansion. It was just as well, Steve thought, although he continued to pay the rent and maintain his own apartment. It wasn’t a lack of faith in his relationship with Tony as much as it was just Steve’s tendency to want to have his options ready. Tony didn’t seem to resent that at all.

Dr. Kaplan had seemed pleased to learn Steve had managed to resume normal sleep cycle with Tony and Peter around. He had fewer nightmares, though they still came, occasionally. Tony’s soothing presence, Steve noticed, had slowly eased his waking up process, and he woke with less of a start these days. He smiled to himself as he walked briskly to the subway station. The drizzling rain and grey skies above him were ominous and telling of the storm the forecast had promised. As he boarded the train, Steve let his thoughts wander again.

~

A couple of days ago, as he entered Stark Mansion, Tony’s voice filtered through Jarvis’ speaker-system. “Welcome home Doc. Come down by the workshop, it’s ready." To which Steve nodded his head absently and stalled only to remove his coat and hat and leave them hanging by the door. He pulled his sleeves and righted them as he approached the elevator and chose the workshop floor.

"What do you think?" Tony asked, peering into Steve’s face as he stared at the small circular device standing innocently on the table. It gave off a pale blue light that seemed radiant. Steve reached up to frame his chin between his thumb and forefinger, forehead creasing in thought.

"It’s…" He said, pausing as Tony leaned in closer expectantly, “pretty?" He tried, glancing sideways at his boyfriend. Tony bumped his forehead into Steve’s shoulder.

"Pretty." Tony muttered, shook his head against Steve, then pulled back. “Yeah, I guess it’s pretty. Its clean-energy capacity doesn’t exactly shine through without explanation." He relented, although Steve could tell he was disappointed. “This little buddy can produce enough electricity to keep two Stark Mansions powered twenty-four seven for two years." He seemed pleased when Steve made an appropriately appreciative sound at that. “And this is just the first model." Tony said, waving towards it. “It’s based on my dad’s arc-reactor technology. You should’ve seen the size of the prototype."

"So you’re gonna call it an Arc-Reactor too?" Steve asked, glancing at the device again.

"Yeah, why not. It’s a miniaturized Arc-Reactor."

"Can I touch it?" Steve wondered before he could think the question through.

"Sure." Tony said easily and shifted aside to start putting things back in order on his workbench.

"You said this is based on your father’s technology." Steve said after a moment of inspecting the device on all sides. It was hard to believe it was so powerful, but Steve knew Tony wasn’t one for exaggeration. What he said was usually how it was. He glanced up when the noise of stuff moving about ceased abruptly. Tony was looking at him, contemplative, waiting to see where Steve was going with this. “Why didn’t he put it into work back then?"

Tony regarded Steve carefully upon being asked this, and only after a long moment did he lower his eyes to the surface of the workbench. “He was manipulated into letting go of this… Option for clean energy in favor of his weapons’ design."

"Wow… Did he ever find out?" Steve asked, his tone quiet.

"No. Actually, I only found out when the same guy tried to take me out." Tony feigned a casual wave of the hand. When Steve frowned worriedly at him, he continued. “I’d gone to do a presentation in the middle east. Decided to join my friend’s vehicle on a whim. The car I was supposed to have taken was blasted to kingdom come. I got suspicious."

"Suspicious?"

"Well, you see. My parents were also killed in a car accident." Steve made a horrified face and Tony looked away from him again. “Sure, they’d said dad drove under the influence, but it was just too much of a coincidence, and not far enough between." Tony gave a hollow chuckle, “Making a murder or a hit look like an accident or a terror-act is not that hard, as you’re probably aware." Before Tony could say anything else, Steve walked over and hugged him from behind. At first Tony just stood impassively and stared at the bench, and then he leaned his head against Steve’s shoulder.

"I’m glad you’re okay." Steve had said then, kissing the top of Tony’s head. “I’m glad you took the other car. I’m glad you figured out the traitor and got rid of him. I’m glad you’re here." It was heartfelt, and Steve had thought it was important to put these thoughts out there. Tony had gone very still in his arms at first, but eventually he’d melted against him with a resigned chuckle.

"The feeling is mutual, Doc." Tony assured him, turning around in Steve’s arms to hug him back. “I had Jarvis order take-outs, I hope you don’t mind." He said, glancing up at Steve, who merely chuckled and shook his head.

"I don’t mind, Tony."

When Steve returned to the present, he realized he’d missed his station. He hissed a curse and hurried off the train. It was only the next station, though, so he didn’t bother boarding a train back, and instead went up to the surface to head back towards Stark Mansion.

~

Steve missing his station must’ve been an act of God. It was nothing short of a miracle. Granted, such concepts were far beyond what dogs were capable of, but the immense feeling of gratitude that washed over one poor Old English Sheepdog wasn’t any less true and honest. Drenched, lost, with his leash dragging behind him through the wet streets, Teddy lunged forward at the first sign of familiarity, and it wasn’t long before he ran head-first into Steve’s legs, whining helplessly.

"What!" Steve exclaimed upon impact. He startled bad and jumped sideways to take a defensive posture, but he let it drop the next second when he saw the dog. “Who…" He frowned, but then recognition clicked into place. “Teddy!" He pointed at the poor, drenched creature. “What happened? Where’s Billy?" He asked pointlessly. The dog would not answer him, though Steve did look around in hopes of spotting at least one of the Kaplans. There was no one in sight, and anyone walking around them was hurrying along. Steve palmed his face and then crouched next to Teddy, reaching for his leash. “You’re lost. Aren’t you."

Whining still, Teddy pulled closer to Steve, tail slumped between his legs and just barely wagging. He pressed against the man, head bowed as though in an attempt to find refuge from the weather.

Not that far away from there, a certain teen was experiencing similar levels of despair. Billy ran through the streets, looking in any which way in the hopes of finding his dog. He knew well how wary Teddy was of strangers, and the environment was a foreign one to him. Billy ran faster, praying with all his might he’d find Teddy before something bad happened to him.

"Don’t worry buddy. We’ll get you back to your family." Steve said, patting Teddy’s wet head once and scratching behind his ear in reassurance. “But first, let’s get you dried up and out of the rain." He offered, standing up and giving the dog a questioning look as he took a step in the direction of Tony’s place.

Steve even moving made Teddy start, but he kept close, side rubbing against Steve’s leg more often than not as they walked.

It would usually have taken Steve perhaps fifteen minutes of brisk walk, but with Teddy so scared and cautious, it took twice that time. Steve found himself admiring the fact Billy was so patient with the dog, especially if this was the sort of behavior he had to deal with when things were rough. Either way, Steve knew how to handle distressed canines, and he took care to maintain contact with Teddy’s head and ears on the way, speaking to him every so often.

When they arrived at Tony’s place, Steve realized it might have been better if he’d let Tony know he was bringing company with him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much I can say about this, so I’ll just let you delve into Tony’s reaction to having a dog in his house and what happens next =]

 

"A dog?!" Tony lamented through the speaker system the moment Steve had the door open, and Steve had to hold onto Teddy’s collar to make sure he didn’t run away in any direction. “You brought a dog to my house?" There was a ruffling sound and then a thud and the sound system went quiet. Steve shook his head and pulled Teddy into the house before closing the door behind them.

"Jarvis-"

"Towels can be found in the cabinet to your right, Dr. Rogers. Be advised that Mr. Stark is on his way."

"Thanks." Steve sighed and looked to Teddy. He hesitated to let go of him. “Stay."

Teddy looked up at Steve pleadingly for a moment but took half a step back, not moving even when Steve put distance between them. He was a good boy, after all.

Steve slowly pulled back from the dog. When he was sure Teddy wouldn’t be moved, he hastily removed his hat and coat to hang them at their by-now-regular space by the door. He reached for the cabinet and pulled out two towels, draping one about his own shoulders before crouching next to Teddy to wrap him up in the towel.

"And now you’re using my towels to dry it off. Remind me when did I become-" Tony was about to say pet-daycare when he recognized the dog and smacked his hand to his forehead. “You have got to be shitting me."

Tony’s appearance made Teddy let out a small sound. As distraught as he already was, however, it mattered little, and even served to help, offering the dog more familiar faces to draw comfort from. Either way he remained mostly still, letting Steve tend to him.

"I’ll wash your precious towels, Tony." Steve said exasperatedly, eyes set on his hands as he dried the dog as best as he could. “I think it’s a bit more important to make sure he doesn’t get a pneumonia before I can contact his owners."

"Don’t try to paint me as a bad guy, Steve. You can’t just bring a dog into my house without even telling me about it." Tony muttered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, deflated. He regarded the dog from above, then looked away. “What if Peter freaks out on us?"

"Then we’ll deal with it when it happens." Steve answered, still not looking at Tony. “How’s this Ted? Feeling better? Still freezing?" He asked the dog, pulling the towel forward to dry his face a little.

The attention he was given helped Teddy relax a bit and he moved forward despite the towel on his face, head meeting Steve’s arm on the way.

Taking that to be a ‘yes’, Steve hugged the dog shortly, and then he stood up. He turned to Tony at last, watching his face for a moment, then lowering his gaze. He gave a small apologetic smile and took a step towards Tony. “You’re right, though. I should’ve let you know first." He admitted, leaning in to kiss Tony’s cheek. “Forgive me?" To which Tony responded with an exasperated shake of the head.

"As if I can stay mad at you." Tony huffed in mock annoyance and reached for the towel around Steve’s shoulders to help him dry off, not unlike how Steve did this for Teddy just a moment ago. “What are we supposed to do with that miserable looking dog now?" He asked in a low whisper, sounding more worried about the integrity of his house than being in the proximity of the dog. He didn’t _hate_  dogs, he just didn’t particularly like them.

"I’ll call the Kaplans’. With some luck, they’ll be able to pick him up soon." Steve answered, glancing at the dog and turning to lift the towel off him. Tony let out a choked yelp when the dog shook itself. Steve only laughed.

"Steve! He’s getting dog-smelling water over everything!"

"What am I supposed to do about it? He’s a dog!"

"I am well aware of that. Can we get to the point where you’re calling his owners and they take him home now, please?" Tony asked, his tone strained and overlaid with worry. He didn’t want Peter to freak out over this. It’s been a good while since the cat had seen the outside world, and Tony had no idea how he’d react to the large dog’s presence. He was keen on not finding out.

"Right, okay." Steve said, resting a hand on Tony’s side. He pulled his phone out with his free hand and inspected the device for a moment. Luckily, it didn’t get wet, which must’ve been a miracle, because Steve had gotten pretty soaked on the way over, coat and everything. Discarding the thought, Steve dialed Dr. Rebecca Kapaln’s number, keeping his eyes set on Tony.

The phone rang for a moment before it connected. The woman on the other end of the line sounded friendly if impatient and a bit distressed. “Steve! You haveimpeccable timing!"

"I’ve got your dog." Steve answered at once, then glanced at Teddy. “He was soaked through and scared, but I’ve got him indoors now. Think you could pick him up?" Greetings were nice, but this situation didn’t call for any.

Silence followed for a while before Rebecca spoke again, voice relieved. “I can’t thank you enough. Where  _are_  you?"

"At Tony’s place." Steve said, then relayed the address after Tony nodded his head.

"Alright, I wrote it down." Rebecca stated, and chatter could be heard around her, of excited children and one husband. “We’ll be over to take him off your hands as soon as we can, Steve. Thank you."

"Don’t mention it." Steve said with a smile. When the conversation ended, he put the phone away and hugged Tony at last. “I’m home."

"Welcome home." Tony said, hugging Steve back. “You smell like dog." he huffed into the point where the towel met Steve’s neck, making Steve laugh softly.

Steve’s phone rang just then, the caller ID belonging to the person he just called himself. The same chatter from before was heard from across the line, as well as a sigh.  
"Steve? It’s me again. I- long story short, Billy’s nearby. He should be there in about ten minutes." Despite the seemingly positive development, she sounded worried and tense.

A loud thunder roared outside just as Rebecca finished her statement, making both Steve and Tony look at the door. Teddy’s reaction was noticeably more extreme, as he let out a pathetic sounding whine and ran to Steve’s side, staying as close as he could. “Ten minutes?" Steve asked, looking down at Teddy and patting his head. “He’s going to be soaked through too." He said. “Does he have an umbrella at least?"

A silence tense enough for it to be conveyed through the phone followed. “He took off as soon as Aaron came back without Teddy. Ten minutes won’t make much of a difference."

Steve sighed at that. “Is he always this reckless?" He asked, though his tone carried fondness rather than annoyance.

"You’ve known him almost as long as I have, Steve, you tell me." Rebecca countered.

"Fair enough." Steve said, nodding his head even though she wouldn’t be able to see. “We’ll look after him when he gets here. I’m not sure if we should let him go home directly, though. It’s pouring already and winds are picking up…"

"You’re a kind man, Steve Rogers." Rebecca said, finally sounding somewhat cheerful. “Looks like you’ll be looking after two of my strays. Thank you. Pass it to Tony too."

This had Steve smiling a bit wider. “I will, and you’re welcome." He said, looking at Tony. “I’ll notify you when he gets here."

"Let me guess." Tony said, crossing his arms with a raised brow. “We’re babysitting that kid and this dog." He seemed to be resigned to his fate.

"You didn’t have any.. uh.. Plans, did you?" Steve asked, cupping Tony’s face in his palm. Tony pulled the hand away politely.

"I might’ve thought a stormy night in bed could be fun." Tony answered. He didn’t want to say Steve’s hands smelled like dog too, but it seemed Steve got the hint and replaced the hand on Tony’s waist, where it was allowed to stay. “But I guess we don’t have much choice."

"I’m sorry." Steve said with some remorse. “Do you want to try and see how Peter will react? Or should we dry the dog off first?"

About that time, Billy slid to a halt, halfway slamming into the front gate. He was panting heavily, soaked to the bone and couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared up at the large building. Still, if his mother sent him there, that’s where his dog was, he thought and rang the intercom.

"That answers your question." Tony said as a small holographic screen appeared next to the door, showing Billy’s wet form outside the gate. “Let him in, J." He said as Steve dove for the cabinet and pulled out two more towels to drop on Billy the moment he walked through the door.

The commotion made Teddy restless and he looked around before his attention flew to the door. He jumped from his spot and sniffed under it before barking, howling, even before the doorbell rang.

"Yes, Teddy, now…" Steve said, approaching the door and pushing the dog sideways out of the way, “let him into the house first, will you?" He half scolded, opening the door and showing Billy into the entrance hall before dumping a towel over his head and handing him the other one.

Teddy moved to Steve’s other side and continued to voice his excitement. Billy managed to pull his soaked hood off his head and smile down at him before one towel was dumped on his head and another handed to him. The dog bounced next to him before pressing against his leg, snout rubbing against Billy’s hand until the boy properly patted his head.

"How is he?" Billy asked and turned to Steve, in the meanwhile awkwardly rubbing the towel over his wet clothes, not quite sure what to do other than that. His own predicament or the slight blue tinge to his lips seemed to not register yet.

"As you can see, he’s just fine." Steve said, pulling Teddy slightly back by the collar. “You, on the other hand, are going to take a shower to warm up. I’m not rushing you to the hospital with hypothermia in the middle of this storm." He said, glancing to Tony.

"Guest room is this way." Tony said, waving Billy over to show him the way.

Teddy growled in protest and looked up at Billy who ran his finger over the dog’s snout. “Yessirs." He muttered and moved to follow Tony, using the towels more as blankets. Teddy tried his best to follow.

Steve held the dog firmly. “You’re coming with me, Teddy. If we don’t dry you off soon, Tony’s going to complain about your dog-smell until he’s blue in the face." He said, taking Teddy to one of the guest rooms and searching for a blow dryer.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the third and last part of the filler saga. 
> 
> Have fun~
> 
> (we’re back to plot next chapter, so don’t despair~)

 

"-and the towels are in that cabinet. There’s hot water so use that. When you’re done, ask Jarvis where to find us. He’ll answer, won’t you, J?" Tony said, showing Billy around the large washroom.

"Yes sir. Good evening young Mr. Kaplan." Jarvis greeted.

"…the house talks." Billy muttered with a sense of awe. He forced his attention back to  _Tony motherfucking Stark whose house he was in (and apparently whose carpets he was soaking)_  before looking down. “Um, don’t suppose you could spare a change of clothes?" He asked and looked at his own soaked outfit, all the while ignoring the fact he was shivering.

Tony chuckled at the first statement, then regarded Billy once, taking in the soaked-through clothes. “I guess it won’t do to have you wear those when you’ve showered and dried. I’ll leave a change of clothes in your guest room. It’s the next door over." Tony said, pointing with his thumb in the right direction, and not seeming bothered at all - this was what he kept guest rooms for, after all. “But first, go and get yourself warmed up. You’re shivering all over." Tony said, making to leave the room.

Billy nodded and ran his hands over his arms. “Thanks, Mr. Stark… sorry for dropping on you like this."

"Don’t worry about it." Tony said with an absent wave of the hand, then closed the door in his wake.

~

"You are much bigger than I remembered, Ted." Steve said fondly as he kept the blow dryer directed at Teddy’s fur. He had no means to comb him, but figured this was enough. Just as he pulled back to avoid a lick to the face, Tony walked into the room.

"Let me guess. ‘It’s not what you think, Tony’?" Tony said, though his stance seemed relaxed and unhurried. Steve turned to him, making to say something but changing his mind and smiling at him instead. “I left the squirt to grab that shower, but we’ll need to give him a change of clothes." Tony informed.

"Oh, okay…" Steve said, but when Tony didn’t move, he blinked at him. “What?"

"I’m giving him a set of your pajamas." Was the answer, and Tony’s expression was too neutral.

"Okay…?" Steve tried, giving Tony a questioning look. Tony stood for a moment longer before turning on his heels and leaving. For a moment Steve looked after him, then turned his gaze to Teddy. “Sometimes, I don’t get him at all." He admitted.

Teddy whined back, ears slumped. He never did feel comfortable around Tony, after all. He soon enough turned his attention away from Steve, back to the door. Billy was there, right? So he’d walk through the door aaaaany minute now, yes… aaaaany minute…

By the time Billy was done, Steve had managed to dry Teddy entirely, which was quite a feat if you asked him. He glanced at the teen, then got to his feet. “I didn’t want to have him wait here all alone, he seemed pretty scared of the thunder…" He explained, then turned to leave and let Billy get dressed in private.

Thawed out and feeling a bit better, Billy was quite surprised to find Steve waiting for him. He reached to tug the bath-robe closer around him, but his attention was soon drawn to a large fluffy ball of fur that at the first signs of attention directed at him charged towards Billy, running into his legs, his tail wagging. A smile broke out on Billy’s face and he kneeled down, arms moving around Teddy who kept whining and wagging his tail non-stop.  
"Yeah, he’s scared of storms." Billy explained in a warm voice before turning to look at Steve. “Thank you, Dr. Rogers. Really." He managed, hugging Teddy even more tightly.

"You’re welcome." Steve said around a smile as he left.

Billy kept hugging Teddy for a while until he himself calmed down. He then pulled away, smiling at the dog who looked back with big, bright eyes.  
"Come on, let’s call mom and tell her we’re alive. And then see if we can get some music playing for you." Billy said and earned an approving bark from Teddy, who seemed happy enough so long as Billy was there and talking to him.

~

Steve walked into the living room with two steaming mugs and handed one of them to Tony. Some time had passed since he left Billy to his own devices, but they weren’t worried. For one, Jarvis would not let Billy approach any place he wasn’t allowed to go to, and Steve figured he would need some time to recover. The television was shut down, and light, unobtrusive music played in the background, making for a pleasant atmosphere.

When Steve sat down, Peter came over and jumped into his lap. Sometimes, Steve wondered how come Peter was so friendly with him. After all, Steve worked with many animals during the day, some dogs, some cats, some other pets. He knew he smelled of antiseptic and medication, smells that cats didn’t usually like, and yet Peter seemed to not mind it at all.

"You are so good at this." Tony said after taking a sip from the coffee. “Is there anything you’re not good at?" He mock complained.

"I’m uh… Not a genius?" Steve answered, quirking an awkward smile before taking a drink from his tea.

"You’ll trip me, you know." Was heard muffled from the stairs. Dressed in clothes he could only imagine were Steve’s and several sizes too big for him, Billy made his way to the second floor, once he gathered the courage to ask Jarvis where the kitchen was. Teddy was noticeably more cheerful than when he arrived but still kept as close as he could to Billy, at times to the point he almost knocked him over.

"I should inform you that young Mr. Kaplan is approaching with his companion." Jarvis said smoothly as ever, making Steve and Tony exchange looks, then glance at the cat. Well, this meeting was bound to happen sooner or later, wasn’t it? It must have been a kind of silent agreement that made Tony take the steaming tea from Steve’s hand and take a few steps away from the sofa. Peter didn’t even stir, but his ears flicked back and front, interest marked in the way his tail resumed motion.

At the top of the stairs was a well-lit hallway with several doors and one door-less frame leading to what appeared to be the living-room. Billy could make out two people inside and figured he had best not stop and stare for too long. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt what seemed to be an intimate moment between Tony and Steve. Teddy also showed interest and leaned a bit towards the entrance, sniffing loudly but turned away the next moment. It wasn’t interesting enough to make him leave Billy’s side, at any rate.

The noise made Peter’s head shoot up. Before Steve had a chance to react, the cat jumped over the backrest and towards the door, but he froze the moment he saw the large dog. “Oh my-" Steve called, sitting up to look back at the scene unfolding before him.

Something moved, catching Billy’s eye and keeping him where he stood. Teddy turned to look as well, ears up and nose sniffing at the air. He looked from Peter to Billy and back to Peter, tail wagging twice before he fell still.

Peter stared at Teddy for a long moment, then took a hesitant step forward. Tony walked silently to Steve’s side after placing the mugs on a counter off to the side. Another step was taken, cautious, but curiosity was clear in the cat’s features.

Billy smiled in amusement as he saw the cat slowly approach, and decided against moving away. He slowly patted Teddy’s head when the dog looked up questioningly at him, and the treatment made Teddy sit down. He too turned to look at Peter, sniffing at the air every once in a while.

The movement made Peter go still, but when the creature only sat down and looked relaxed enough, he took another step, then another, ducking his head to sniff at the dog’s paw. This was new. “I don’t think he’s ever met dogs." Tony whispered to Steve at the couch. “He was born in my yard and the farthest he ever got from the mansion was that day I brought him to you…"

"That might explain it." Steve answered quietly.

Teddy regarded Peter with growing curiosity the closer the cat got. Then the sniffing began and Teddy’s tail wagged behind him back and forth over the floor. A moment passed before he leaned forward, idly sniffing at Peter’s neck and back.

Every sudden movement sent Peter into a defensive stance, but he relaxed each time, when the dog showed no offensive attitude. The moment drew out and they exchanged sniffles for a long while, until Peter concluded this none-human was okay, and rubbed his side along its leg, tail hooking around it for a brief moment before he was satisfied that he’d left enough smell on the dog to own him.

Teddy kept watching Peter, tail wagging faster. He looked up at Billy with an expression the boy by then learned was the dog’s way of smiling before Teddy returned his attention to Peter, waiting until the cat was close enough to be licked.

The lick made Peter freeze, and in distinct dissatisfaction, he stalked off. “Well at least he didn’t attack." Steve mentioned when Tony made a strangled sound, then laughed slightly, turning his gaze on Billy.

Billy snickered when Peter took off, and then again when Teddy turned to look at him, confused and a bit saddened.  
"Looks like he doesn’t like being licked, Ted." Billy explained soothingly, patting Teddy with one hand before coughing into his opposite forearm. He looked up to find Steve looking at him and nodded back, his smile wide.

Steve waved at Billy. “When you’re done in the kitchen, come in here. This room’s got the best heating in the house and Tony’s media center is the best you’ll ever find." He said, ignoring the surprised look Tony gave him.

"Uh…" Billy glanced at Tony, whose expression was a bit hard to read from this distance. Still, Steve seemed quite eager, making Billy finally scratch the back of his neck and nod. “Sure." He said and was back soon enough with a mug of tea. Teddy followed suit, only to yawn once they came to a stop.

Steve had soothed Tony’s worries by the time Billy joined them. They sat at the sofa together, leaving space for Billy to occupy. “So what will it be?" Tony asked, glancing at the boy. He didn’t particularly find much in common with children, but he could play along for now. Steve’s promises were enough to make him behave.

Being approached directly like this left Billy feeling even less steady than he was before. He stalled for a moment, looking at Teddy who stretched forward, then back, and finally laid down at his feet, licking his lips.  
"I’m not that picky, I think. What did you have in mind?" He asked and filled his mouth with tea.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re back to plot! I have finished writing the main plot. It ends a bit… meh, but I think it’s fitting, anyway. There’s 3 long chapters pretty much ready to be posted, and then two epilogues I have yet to write. My thanks is extended to [smiledesu](http://smiledesu.tumblr.com/), who sat down to proof-read my stuff even when the going got rough.
> 
> Once that is done, I will open [requests](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask), so you may [ask](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask) for drabbles in this AU~ Exciting times ahead. 
> 
>  

 

Winter was finally showing signs of ending, and though it rained and was still quite cold, things were looking up. The ordeal with Billy and his dog was behind them; resolved, eventually, when the storm had subsided enough for Billy’s parents to come pick him up in their car. Steve had spent the weekend after that cleaning the guest room and the living room from all the fur the dog had shed there, and the dog smell had taken longer than that to fade, but Tony didn’t seem to mind it as much as he’d let on at first. That was probably because Peter didn’t seem to mind it at all.

Most days began with Steve going for his morning workout and Tony sleeping in. Then, Steve would head out for the clinic, either at the same time Tony left for work or a couple of hours earlier, depending on the shift he got. In the evenings, they would either eat out or order food, and on rare occasions, they cooked dinner together. Weekends were typically spent in bed or out of doors. Tony wasn’t a big fan of hiking when he met Steve, but he warmed up to the activity when Steve showed him some new places and taught him how to set up camp.

Sometimes, they liked to spend some time separately. This usually happened when Tony had a project he was keen on finishing before deadline, or when Steve lost a patient. Those times saw Steve in the top floor of Stark Mansion. The whole floor was a library, complete with a reading area and an arts room. Steve would either work on a drawing, read a book, or catch up on recent medical researches regarding the animals he usually treated. Tony remained in his workshop until prompted to leave it. When Tony was like this, Steve rarely saw him come to bed in the evening, and had to go to sleep alone, with only Peter for company. He found he didn’t mind it very much, because he always woke up with Tony next to him in the morning

There were no signs, that day, that something out of the ordinary would happen. It started like any other day. Steve kissed Tony goodbye and patted Peter before heading out to work. He treated a few dogs from the pound and registered newly adopted kittens. At around noon, Tony called to suggest they make dinner together that evening, and ask what ingredients Steve thought they would need. They settled for spaghetti bolognese and a vegetable salad to go with it. Everything seemed to go normally.

On the way home, Steve stopped by the grocery shop to pick up some last minute things Tony couldn’t track down earlier. They made the meal according to a recipe Tony picked up somewhere on the internet. In hindsight, Tony would insist Steve had seemed more lost in thought than usual when he stirred the sauce.

When they sat down to eat, it happened.

"Crap-!" Tony exclaimed suddenly. He’d dropped the ladle the wrong way, and sauce splashed up on his white shirt, leaving a large, dark red stain in its wake. There was an eerie silence from across the table, and Tony turned his gaze on Steve, who at that exact moment got to his feet, a horrified expression on his face. The chair Steve had been sitting on fell over with a resounding crashing noise, making Steve jump. And then, his eyes wide with terror and barely restrained panic, Steve took several steps back, all but frozen otherwise. His lips moved, though Tony could hear nothing but a murmur from where he was, still sitting in his chair, staring bewildered at Steve. “Steve?" He asked carefully. Steve flinched and looked around, seeing things that weren’t there, Tony guessed, then took another step back, meeting the wall. By that point, Tony was out of his chair, concern clear on his face. “Steve!"

"Not again. Not again. Not again. Not again." Tony heard him chant as he took a step closer. Steve was so tense all over, he was shaking uncontrollably, and Tony dared not come too close to him. He’d done enough reading about Steve’s condition. Touching, or even being in punching range, could be dangerous, and Steve wouldn’t want him to get hurt over this.

"What is it, Steve? Talk to me…" Tony tried, holding out his hands towards Steve, who pulled away without even looking at him. There was no telling what Steve was seeing, and Tony grappled with the helplessness he felt for a long moment, still keeping his distance though it pained him to do so. He forced a deep breath, then another, and then, he tried to make sense of the situation. Steve was going nowhere. By that point, he’d taken residence on the floor, hands on the sides of his head and eyes set before him. He was still mumbling.

It had to be a flashback. There was no other explanation. Tony had done the reading, dammit, he should be able to recognize this thing immediately. There was a trigger. There had to have been one, but Tony wasn’t sure what it was. He glanced down at his soiled shirt, then smacked his forehead. Right. A large red stain on a close person’s chest, that ought to do the trick, even if Steve had been generally symptoms free. Tony pulled off the shirt without a second thought, rationalizing that the trigger had to be removed first. Then, shirtless and still a bit lost, seeing how Steve was not responding, he stood there, staring at his boyfriend.

"Sir, may I suggest some music?" Jarvis, sounding perfectly composed, suddenly asked. Tony paused, tilting his head at the suggestion. Well, it couldn’t hurt, right? “Sure, J. Hit it." He said, then went to his knees, approaching Steve slowly. When Steve showed no signs of moving away, or even recognizing Tony’s presence, he plopped down beside him on the floor and reached over. Still no response. In the background, a gentle guitar riff started playing, though the volume was turned higher than Tony would’ve usually used for this type of music. He let his hand rest on Steve’s thigh.

"No! We have to- I have to…" Steve suddenly exclaimed, partially surging forward, and then he lowered his head and closed his eyes, leaning against the wall again. “Medic…" He was still trembling, but something was different. “I can’t… I don’t…" There seemed to be some kind of struggle going on within him, and Tony slid his hand up and down Steve’s thigh, his touch gentle but present.

"You’re safe." Tony said, his tone firm. “You’re home, with me. Everything is fine. You’re having a flashback." He said. He doubted it would help much, but it was better than doing nothing. In the background, the song played on. It was one of Tony’s personal favorites, and he made a mental note to comment upon Jarvis’ excellent taste, later. Beside him, the trembling subsided so very slowly from Steve’s body.

They sat in quiet for a long time, though Tony had no way of telling how long without asking Jarvis. The music continued to play. At first, a couple of soft rock songs, and then some classical music. Jarvis’ choices were precise, a fact made clear by the eventual slumping of Steve’s features. The man’s hands fell to his sides, and he rested his head back against the wall, swallowing several times, but still not talking. Tony decided not to push him, and kept his presence neutral. “It’s… It’s not real." Steve said, and it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself. “Not real… Not real…" He was shaking his head ever so slightly.

"Are you coming back?" Tony asked carefully, making sure he didn’t sound impatient. He hoped it was working. There was no answer for a moment, but before Tony could say anything else, Steve nodded his head slightly.

"Yeah…" Steve whispered. He had an anguished frown on his face, features all pulled in the wrong directions. Tony hesitated.

"Can I…" He asked, reaching his free hand up slowly, so as to make sure Steve could stop him if he so wanted, but Steve only nodded his head again. Tony let his fingers rest gently over the harsh lines, pressing in slow, short strokes. “Relax, Steve…" He said, his tone earnest. “It’s just you and me here. You don’t…" He took a brief breath when Steve’s features dissolved into relaxation under his fingertips. “You don’t need to worry about it. It’s all alright. Just breathe. We’ll figure out the rest later." He tried to reassure. Under the miserable expression that took over the shameful one, Steve’s smile seemed bitter.

"You know that?" Steve asked, his voice tiny and resigned.

"Of course I do. I’m a genius." Tony answered, trying for humor and beaming brightly when Steve let out a reluctant laugh. Tony had to contemplate for a second his ability to urge laughter out of this man even at the worst times. It could be a superpower, he’d like to have that for a superpower.

"Meow."

They both started at the sound of something landing on the table, and turned to look. Peter stood above the bowl of meat-sauce and dipped his head in. The next second, both Steve and Tony were on their feet, Tony grabbing for the cat and Steve taking the lid and putting it over the pot. “Peter…" Tony scolded and looked the cat in the eye. “That is a no-no." He said. Peter swatted his cheek without putting his claws into it.

"I’m sure he’s impressed." Steve answered, his tone deep and amused, and still somewhat shaken. Tony rolled his eyes and set the cat on the floor. He looked to Steve, measuring him up.

"You okay? Do you need distractions?" He asked. Steve pulled a face but then looked away. He seemed unsure. “It’s okay if you do. I’ve got the best media center you’ll ever find, you know. Or we can go for a walk. Or-or I can show you stuff at the workshop. Or you can draw me-"

"You’re rambling." Steve said, stopping Tony mid-speech as he turned to look at him, his expression softened again by a slight smile. “Let’s watch a movie. Choose something I’ve never seen but should’ve. I know you’ve got a list." That made Tony grin as he pulled close, arms wrapping around Steve’s waist.

"Why yes. Yes I do. I think we’re going to have to go for something exceptionally shocking this time, to get your mind off things." Steve didn’t protest this prospect at all. “Just let me get a new shirt."

~~~

"So the servants were brother and sister."

"Yes."

"And that thing they did with their hands was…"

"Elbow sex."

"And they’re from the same planet as the other guy with the excessive makeup…?"

"Frankenfurter."

"Who made sexual advances on Janet  _and_  her husband Brad."

"Yes, he did do them pretty well, didn’t he? But they’re not married, Steve, they’re engaged."

"Okay… But then that’s weird, isn’t it?" Steve frowned, trying to wrap his head around these bizarre concepts, so engrossed in it he couldn’t be bothered with brooding over what happened at dinner.

"Maybe it is." Tony said, shrugging and leaning closer to Steve. “It’s a strange movie, so I’m not surprised you’re confused."

"And! How did that guy in the wheelchair move his legs and swim if he was crippled?"

"Dr. Scott was under a spell. Obviously the actor didn’t need a wheelchair."

"About that spell-" Steve started saying, but Tony turned just so and kissed him.

"I’m glad you liked the movie." Tony said when they parted at last.

"What makes you think I liked it?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at Tony, even as he slid his arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

"You’re thinking about it, asking questions about it. It interests you. You don’t do that with things you don’t like." Tony said, then nuzzled Steve’s neck. He was still curious about earlier. Still wanted to talk about it, to ask what Steve had seen, if he’d reacted okay or if he should’ve done anything differently, but he didn’t know how to bring it up without killing whatever of a pleasant mood they’d managed to restore. Unawares, Steve remained motionless beside him, probably contemplating Tony’s words while running his hand up and down his side. And maybe this was better. Maybe this wasn’t the time to bring it up. Maybe instead of asking questions and troubling Steve’s mind, Tony would be better off just keeping distraction going?

"I guess so." Steve finally said, leaning his head against Tony’s. “I still don’t understand half of it, but the songs were nice, and it was visually pleasing, for the most part." Steve said, making Tony smile fondly and rest a hand on his belly.

"Well, that’s great." Tony hummed, turning his head to nuzzle against Steve’s neck again. “I guess we’ll have to show it to you again sometime." He added, his voice still low and light. “Do I get to show you a good time now?" He asked, and his smile widened at the shudder that ran through Steve. “Hmm… I think you like that idea." He continued, trailing his fingertips up Steve’s torso. “I’ll take good care of you, Steve, you know I always do." He urged.

"You do." Steve answered, resting his head back and closing his eyes. “I think I’d like you to do that, now." He said, his hand still holding Tony close.

"Not here, though." Tony countered, but stayed motionless for the time being. “Let me take you to bed." He requested. Steve went limp beside him and sighed, sounding a bit… something. Something not entirely happy and Tony bit his lower lip. Did he fuck it up?

"I don’t remember you being against having fun right here." Steve said, his tone mute.

"Oh I’m not against it at all, doc. I just find it more…."

"Look." Steve said, and Tony fell silent. “It was… It was just a flashback, it’s not a big deal. I can’t…" He raised a hand to rest over his eyes. “Don’t treat me like I might break at any moment, okay?" The hand was lowered and Steve turned to look at Tony. “I won’t suddenly break. I can have sex on the couch just fine. I can watch your crazy movies. I can eat a serving of goddamned spaghetti bolognese without freaking out, I swear." But he was shaking badly, and the look in his eyes was haunted. Tony surged forward, cupping Steve’s face in his palms.

"I know. I’m sorry. I know you can. Of course you can." He kissed Steve’s lips, then kissed him again, and Steve was staring at him, not responding to the treatment at all. “I just wanted…" Tony tried, then shook his head. “I had this idea… I wanted to do something nice but the couch is too small. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that." And Steve didn’t seem to believe him, so he pressed another kiss to his lips. “Please just come to bed. I’ll make it good for you, and you don’t have to read anything into it."

Steve turned his head when Tony tried to kiss him again, all trails of sweet mood gone. He pulled away completely and leaned forward, burying his face in his palms. “God…" He said, “It’s the third time I’ve ever had one of these… Can we not…"

Tony watched him, bewildered by the sudden change, but trying not to take the draw back personally. “If you don’t want to, then we definitely shouldn’t." He said, turning to rest his hand lightly on Steve’s shoulder. “We don’t have to do anything. I just… Thought it’d help take your mind off things." He pulled a face at himself. “Sorry if it was in poor taste." Steve shook his head, and it worried Tony that he was hiding his face still. He trailed his hand up to pat Steve’s head slowly. “Do you want to… Talk about it?" He offered carefully. “Tell me what you saw? Maybe it’ll help to share it with someone?"

After a silence that made Tony almost fidget, Steve straightened up and glanced to Tony. “I’m going to go for a run." He said, and didn’t let Tony answer as he got to his feet. “We will talk about it when I get back. Or, I don’t know, tomorrow. Don’t stay up." He said, cupping Tony’s face in his palm and giving him an apologetic look.  "I’ll be back before you wake up." He promised.

~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Please note that what’s described here is a severe flashback. It can happen to people with PTSD, though it usually doesn’t happen to people in Steve’s condition as I wrote it so far. It still  _can_  happen.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting there, getting there. one more chapter and we’re done, and then two epilogues a-coming. Or maybe two chapters and one epilogue, haven't decided yet.  
> Again, my thanks is extended to smiledesu for proof-reading.  
> Don't forget! Once this is done, you're more than welcome to send me requests for drabbles in this very AU, [at my askbox](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy~

 

 

Tony had protested. At first he seemed frustrated, but then he was just upset. It took Steve several long minutes to explain that he just needed a change of pace. To clear his mind and let his body move. He needed to think, and to be alone. Eventually, Tony relented, and Steve went to change into his workout clothes before heading out.

By now, word of Tony Stark’s affair was old news. During the month and a half a bit after the ordeal with Billy and his dog, a picture of them kissing had leaked to the press, and stirred an uproar. It had been difficult to get around, and going anywhere near Tony’s house was the toughest. His morning runs would typically start with him having to shake off paparazzi while refusing to answer questions. Now, it was much milder. He wondered if the late hour was the reason, but decided not to dwell on it as a flash or two followed him.

He thought of Tony instead. The air was cool and refreshing, and it hadn’t rained in a while but the sidewalk was slightly damp, adding an oddly soothing sound effect to every impact of his legs on the asphalt. Tony’s eyes, Steve mused, were far more expressive than the guy seemed to realize. He took a familiar right turn. The way Tony had looked at him that evening ranged from pity, which made Steve ache with dissatisfaction, to lust, hot and sweet and not entirely welcome, what with how unbalanced he still felt. Steve stopped. Something caught his eye, and he frowned, turning to look.

In the corner between two buildings, propped against the wall and taking shelter under a ledge, laid a thin mama-cat with her four kittens. It was an oddity to Steve. Cats were not supposed to bear kittens during the winter time, that’s just not how their biology worked, but the fact was right before his eyes. And mama-cat seemed fierce enough that he decided not to come near, and instead stood back, watching as she washed one, then another. Without her, they would die, he knew, and she looked so famished. He thought back to Peter, on that side of fat and content, lying by the heater in the media room while Tony worked some data or another on his tablet.

It was always a thought he maintained in the back of his mind, but sometimes it came to the front and forced him to look it in the eye - the sad truth of life. Some creatures were meant to lay in the cold, damp corners of a street, scrapping for food, while others sat in warmth and plenty. Some died in the front-lines, and some remained blissfully oblivious in their comfortable homes in their own countries. Some people struggled with mental ailments, and others could only look on and try to help, even though they had no idea how.

Tony had done what he could. It was clear he’d had some idea of how to handle a situation like the one he’d been put in. He didn’t immediately try to touch Steve, he got rid of the trigger as soon as he figured out what it was - the picture of the stained shirt still lingered in his mind, echoing the blood-splattered uniform shirt Peggy had worn that day. Tony had even offered distractions, and not for his own pleasure - for Steve’s peace of mind. Steve turned from the sight of the cat and her babies and ran on.

A couple of blocks down that road there was a 24/7 shop, and that was where he was headed now. A while later, he’d arranged a piece of soggy cardboard into a temporary food plate, and emptied the can of cat food he’d gotten at the shop onto it before pushing the makeshift plate close to the cat, so she won’t have to leave her young ones. She eyed him cautiously for a long moment, but the smell of food and her famished state overruled her caution, and she soon started eating.

There wasn’t much else Steve could do for her. Taking her in was out of the question at this point, and she was settled in a relatively dry patch of ground. With enough food to sustain her through the kittens’ maturity period, they should all make it well and fine. Maybe tomorrow he’ll come back with a durable plastic box to provide better shelter from the rain. Maybe he should consult with Tony about that.

Perhaps it was time he went back. Maybe if Tony was still awake, they could talk, and Steve could tell him about the explosion, and Peggy, and how he knew Tony’d done that background check, and how while he didn’t begrudge it exactly, he was still disappointed that Tony never told him about it, never asked him directly. Or maybe he could just make love to him, instead. Maybe he could finally -  _finally_  - tell him he loved him. Steve smiled to himself. He’ll decide when he gets home, he thought, then, with a final glance at the cat, he turned to run the rest of the way home like he’d planned.

~

"Jarvis, what time is it?" Steve asked as he walked into the house. The absence of Tony’s immediate recognition of his arrival home could mean a number of things, some of which more favorable than others. He tried not to dwell on that.

"It is now twenty three minutes past nine, Dr. Rogers." Jarvis chimed in, the silence that followed was expectant. Steve hesitated.

"And is-"

"Mr. Stark can be found in the workshop at this time, though I must inform you that according to my records, neither of you have had your dinner yet."

Something tugged in Steve’s chest. A bittersweet thought that Tony had not sat down to eat while he was gone, perhaps waiting for Steve so they could eat together, but maybe also because he was too preoccupied with his project to care about food that much. The second option sounded weaker, in this case, because after all it had been Tony’s idea to make dinner together.

"You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?" Steve asked, instead, toeing off his running shoes and walking through the entrance hall and into the lobby, taking the stairs up to the second floor two or three steps at a time. Jarvis’ voice traveled with him, always sounding nearby.

"If you inquire as to my opinion, Dr. Rogers, I would say he was waiting for your return. Mr. Stark had not had company for any of his meals for a very long time, before he met you. It can be deduced that he is reluctant to repeat the experience if it is at all avoidable."

Steve paused, letting that statement sink in before he resumed movement. “Are you usually this free with Tony’s personal information?" He asked offhandedly as he reached the top of the stairs and headed for the shower.

"Only with Mr. Stark’s trusted personas." Jarvis assured. Steve nodded his head to acknowledge the answer.

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"Anytime, Dr. Rogers."

~

Clean and much more relaxed after the workout, and with his mind far clearer than it had been most of that day, Steve headed for the workshop. Tony was hunched over a blueprint of something Steve couldn’t make out from where he was standing. “Tony." He said, making Tony start and look up, both eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Steve! I didn’t think you’d be back so early." Tony said, then frowned. “Wait, it _is_  early, right?"

"It is now ten minutes to ten o’clock." Jarvis announced. Steve smiled as Tony’s expression melted into exasperation. It wasn’t very early.

"Bed?" Tony asked, already rolling up the blueprints to set them aside. He wasn’t doing any dirty work to speak of.

"Maybe dinner, first?" Steve suggested, waiting for Tony at the door. A quiet moment passed as Tony regarded Steve carefully, then leaned up to press their lips together.

"This time, you’re dishing out the food." Was all Tony had to say to Steve’s offer, and a brief pang of relief went through Steve’s chest. Yes. He was so very much in love with this guy.

~

They returned to the kitchen, and Steve was surprised to find the chair he had occupied earlier still lying fallen to the side. When he glanced at Tony, though, the only response he got was a shrug. Tony reached over and put the chair in its upright position before sitting down and waiting quietly. It was so rare for Tony to keep this kind of quiet that it made Steve a bit uneasy.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Steve decided to ask as he turned to the still-set table. The food was probably already cold, but there wasn’t much they could do about that. Heating it would take too long, and Steve still had plans for the evening before they went to sleep. A hum came from Tony before any actual response did.

"You said it was the third time." Tony said, keeping his eyes trained on his plate. “Do you mind telling me about the other ones?" Careful as it was, Tony couldn’t keep curiosity out of his voice, and Steve had to smile slightly as he filled their plates. He concentrated on the task in a way that may seem odd to outsiders, but Tony said nothing about it. The spaghetti pot was there. It was Tony’s pot. It was Tony’s dishes and Tony’s table. And this was food, not blood, he mused as he stirred the sauce. It wasn’t even that red, and from up close it didn’t resemble blood at all. Everything was fine.

"The first one was when I first started practicing operations on live animals." Steve said, handing the first serving to Tony. “First sight of blood since the field and all that." And talking about it came so easy it surprised him. Tony’s nose crinkled, making Steve chuckle slightly. “If it makes you squeamish we can talk about it later-"

"No, no. Tell me everything." Tony spoke over him, then hesitated, “Or, you know, whatever you feel like telling me." And Steve nodded his head as he finished setting his own plate and sat down across from Tony.

"Okay. So that was the first time. During therapy I had… Well, other things. My doctor didn’t think I’d get flashbacks at all, so it was a surprise all around." He said, rolling pasta onto his fork endlessly, eyes set on it. “They said I blacked out for over an hour, took cover behind a desk and wouldn’t come out until it passed." all motion paused, Steve’s sight went distant for a moment before he pulled himself together. “I only remember a red stain and feeling like I was falling right through the floor. When I came back completely they’d already managed to get me out of the operation room." Steve’s eyes rose to meet Tony’s. He didn’t comment about the fact Tony hadn’t even touched his utensils yet.

"Was it the same memory?" Tony asked after a tense moment, then fumbled for his fork to at least pretend he was getting at the food.

"It’s…" Steve paused, contemplating how to answer this. “The flashbacks, yes. Nightmares… It varies." He settled for, finally stuffing the fork in his mouth and keeping his eyes on Tony. It felt so strange to be finally talking about this. They’ve been together for well over six months by now, so it should’ve been discussed earlier, but Steve didn’t want to push Tony into telling him about the background check, and he didn’t particularly feel like sharing his traumatic experience. After all, it had been so painful for him, he didn’t want to subject his boyfriend to such terrors.

Tony ate silently for a short moment, too, eyes lowered to his plate, so Steve turned back to his food as well, waiting for the next question. It took longer to come than Steve had expected. “So, the second time?" Tony asked, and Steve didn’t look up. There was an absent nod of the head Steve was only partially aware of.

"First pet I lost during surgery." Steve said quietly, setting the fork down and running his palm down his face. He took a deep breath before continuing. “It was a Golden Retriever." He said, not looking up from his plate. “He was almost thirteen years old. For Golden Retrievers that’s very old. They have this… Genetic tendency to get cancer and die by the time they’re ten, usually. But that tough boy was strong, and we gave him all the treatments we could think of."

"But that’s…" Tony tried to say, but Steve shook his head.

"We ran an operation on him. He had a lump in his intestines, and we thought we could just take it out, but he was already very weak when he came in - we shouldn’t have operated on him at all - and when we got inside…" Steve shook his head. “There was nothing we could do for him." Silence fell again after Steve said this, until Tony talked again.

"And the flashback?"

"It only took over after the family had gone. Bucky never got these, so he was there to help, but it was pretty bad." Tony seemed to consider the new information.

"So Bucky’s-"

"That’s all I’m going to say about him." Steve interrupted, then resumed eating, as though to say they will continue talking after dinner. Tony easily accepted this. They both realized soon after starting at their meals that they were actually pretty hungry.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so essentially, this is intended to be the last chapter for this story. There are two more pieces that relate to this story that will be posted according to schedule (tomorrow and the day after that) that shed more light on Steve’s past and where they’re taking it from here. I would like to thank my pal Smiledesu for all the help in writing this and for proof-reading most of this monstrous piece.
> 
> There is sex, though it’s not particularly on the normal smut!scale if you ask me. This chapter was weird to write. NSFW though, just in case.
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy =]
> 
> Don’t forget! If there’s anything specific you want to see happening in this AU, you’re welcome to send me a [request](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask) and I will write it~
> 
>  

Food had been consumed, finally. The dishes left to dry on the dish-rack, and Steve fed Peter before leading Tony to the media room. Tony hated calling it a living room, because his memories of the living room were not favorable, and Steve never questioned it. Maybe he should ask, one day, he mused, but it was not to happen today.

Tony sat down, feigning ease as he leaned back languidly on the sofa. Steve sat next to him, not rigid but not entirely relaxed. If he noticed, Tony didn’t say anything, only reached over to rest his hand on Steve’s thigh. “So…" He said carefully, eyes set on Steve’s face.

"Couple of months ago, you closed your weapons division." Steve said after a moment, glancing at Tony, then looking down at the hand on his thigh. He placed his own hand over Tony’s, lacing their fingers together, even as Tony froze. “You said you couldn’t tell me what it was about, then. Think you could tell me, now?" He asked, gaze turning back to Tony’s face. And true enough, though Tony was a master of hiding his inner workings to most of the world, Steve could read it all there - panic, fear of rejection. He sighed and pulled Tony’s hand up, turning it over to kiss his palm. “I like to think I gave you enough time to work up the courage." He murmured against Tony’s palm, enjoying the roughness of the skin there. “And in return, I’ll tell you my sob story."

Tony regarded him carefully for a long moment. Steve was grateful for the fact he still had a hold on the man’s hand. It seemed like Tony was trying to work out the best way to say something, but eventually he just rolled his eyes and, resigned, he started talking. “I ran your name through my systems." Tony admitted, lowering his gaze. “I have… extensive access to government databases, I know pretty much everything there is to know about you that’s ever been digitized." And when Steve refrained from responding, Tony flexed his fingers in his grasp. “It’s creepy, I know. I’ve done it a couple of times before-" He glanced at Steve, then shook his head, “Well, more than a couple." He admitted, but Steve still watched him expectantly. Right, the question. “Anyway, that’s it, that’s my secret. I’m a creepy stalker boyfriend and I know your girlfriend was killed out there because of one of my fragmentation mines and I’d tell you it wasn’t manufactured legally if I thought it’d help any, but the least I could do was to shut down so it’d never happen again."

The silence that fell in the wake of Tony’s ramble was deafening. Tony was panting slightly, and Steve continued to watch him for a moment, before he gave a sigh and kissed Tony’s palm again.

"She wasn’t my girlfriend." He said quietly.

"But you loved her."

"I did. I do. It never really goes away, you know." He said, huffing a breath over Tony’s hand. “But it’s getting better with time." And he nuzzled Tony’s palm, hoping to make it a distracting, ticklish touch. Tony’s fingers twitched. “Point is, you ran a background check on me, and that’s hardly fair, is it?" He glanced over to Tony, and smiled when he noted a touch of surprise there.

"Fair? That’s all you’re going to say? It’s unfair?" There was a touch of disbelief to his tone that amused Steve.

"What did you expect?" Steve asked, his tone challenging. “Did you want me to flip over the coffee table and walk out on you?" He asked, still watching Tony’s face carefully.

"You’re the only one who’d make a point of calling it coffee table." Tony grumbled, flexing his fingers in Steve’s hold - it was a strong grasp and he didn’t particularly want to have Steve let go. “But uh.. Pretty much, yeah. I mean, you know, creepy stalker boyfriend and all that." He looked nervously at their connected hands, at least a bit ashamed of what he’d done.

"Well if I was going to do that, I’d be gone the day you closed that division of yours." Steve countered, watching Tony’s expression turn into confusion, then to horrified realization. “Yeah, you may think you’re subtle, and maybe it’s worked for you before, but you’re dealing with an ex-Captain and a stray-cats’ veterinarian here. My job is to figure out what’s going on. I’m basically a detective." He wiggled the fingers of his free hand at Tony, then let it rest. “I did the math, you know. You’d only just found out I had this thing, and you were probably curious. You’re one of the world’s most technologically advanced people, so I’d be surprised if you  _didn’t_  have access to pretty much anything you wanted. And then, the next day, you shut down your weapons’ manufacturing. You’d told me pretty much everything I needed to know to figure you out."

"That is…. Impressive." Tony said, looking truly impressed, and somewhat frustrated with himself. He closed his eyes and reached his free hand up to rub over them. “So basically I was being so obvious… And you didn’t tell me you knew. Why?"

"It had to come from you." Steve answered, eyes wandering over Tony’s forearm, then back to his face. “I thought you were afraid of telling me you did this, and I didn’t want to force it out of you. Besides, it would basically mean I’d have to tell you the full story, and I didn’t exactly want to." He said, closing his eyes on the painful memory once more.

"Well, looks like you don’t have to, big guy." Tony said, leaning over to bump their shoulders. “Since I  _did_  see it all." He explained, and Steve smiled, but it was a very faint, not entirely humorous smile.

"You saw what’s on the secure databases." Was Steve’s response, and he turned to glance at Tony again. “Did they say what the sky looked like? Did they say how it felt to watch it happen?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as Tony cringed. “I don’t think so. What you saw were the facts, and probably some pictures." And Tony tried to say something, but Steve didn’t let him. “And what upsets me about this is that you didn’t respect my wish for you to not know yet. There are things I would’ve liked to know about you, too, but I don’t have access to that body of information, do I?"

"And if you had such access?" Tony asked, tone mute, defeated. He guessed Steve wasn’t actually trying to be accusative about it, but the words cut him deep, regardless of Steve’s tone. He felt so guilty of an unspeakable crime, he had to find a way to fix it.

"I don’t know." Steve admitted, then shrugged. “I’d much rather hear the stories directly from you. Like how you told me about the accident and the middle-east ordeal."

"Well I’m sorry-"

"Apology accepted."

"…What?" Tony seemed bewildered at the quick acceptance. Steve shook his head again.

"Tony… This is… Well, I’m not happy that you did it, okay? But it’s not like you can go back in time and undo it." Tony pulled a face at that and Steve chuckled. “I won’t expect the impossible from you, and I don’t really have anything to hide, anyway." He added, and leaned over to kiss Tony’s cheek. “Aside for what I’m gonna tell you now, and that’s something you can’t find on the secure databases anyway."

"Oh?" Tony asked, looking interested. He usually didn’t go so long without putting his own word into a conversation, but Steve had taken full reign of it. He’d thought about bringing this up for a long time, complete with reasoning and specific things he had to say. Tony had somehow managed to find someone who could out-talk him. That wasn’t as easy a task as one would imagine. He obviously didn’t expect what came out of Steve’s mouth next.

"I love you." It was a simple uttering. Steve’s voice was low, secretive but not shy. He sported a small smile now, but once again didn’t let Tony answer. “You don’t have to say anything back, it’s okay." He said, squeezing Tony’s hand lightly, “I’ve just been thinking about it and I thought you should know." And Tony stared at him, awestruck and speechless for a second before he shook the surprise out of his features. Steve could see thoughts racing through the man’s head as he stared on, and eventually, Tony spoke.

"You can be so silly sometimes." He said, reaching over to cup Steve’s jaw in his palm. “You’re sitting here with me after we’ve had a nice dinner we made together. I call you almost every day even when I know you’re busy. And I’ve invited you to live with me in my place so I can hug you at night and make sure you don’t have to deal with your nightmares alone. Of course I love you. Of course I do." He leaned in and kissed Steve carefully, gently. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t want to scare you away." He admitted, pressing their foreheads together. “I get uh… Kind of overbearing sometimes. I never know what’s going too fast so I just…"

"Waited?" Steve asked, amused.

"That." Tony answered, pointing to Steve’s cheek, then pressing the tip of his finger to said cheek the next moment. “And… I’m not so good with…" He added as Steve pulled back a fraction to look at him, eyebrows raised in a patiently impatient manner. “Emotions." He articulated. Steve chuckled, then kissed him.

"Let’s go with something you  _are_  good with, then." He suggested, getting to his feet and pulling Tony up along with him. Tony gave him a flirty look.

"Woah there doc. Are you propositioning me?" He asked in mock surprise. “Is this an attempt at distraction?"

"You should know that if I decide to do something, it doesn’t boil down to ‘an attempt’." Steve cautioned playfully as he guided Tony to their shared bedroom. The door clicked closed and Steve paused to take a short breath, steeling himself. Tony turned to give him a questioning look, and Steve smiled at him, small and personal. “If it’s all the same to you, I would like to top, this time." He said, watching Tony’s reaction carefully, but there was no negative emotion in sight on the man’s face.

"That sounds like a good plan." Tony said, stepping closer to Steve and winding his arms around his trim waist. “You gonna go rough?" He asked, and there was a hint of a sparkle in his eyes. Steve shook his head.

"Not this time, kink-master." Steve said around a chuckle, kissing Tony’s pouting lips. “But I promise it will be worth it." He added, and Tony shook his head, a smile stretching his lips already.

"I’m not worried about your skills in bed." Tony assured him, leaning over to nudge the side of Steve’s nose with his own. “How do you want me, sweet-cheeks?" He whispered, letting his breath tickle Steve’s lips, and Steve fastened one of his arms around Tony’s shoulders, while the other settled against his arm to allow his hand access to the back of Tony’s neck, so he could pull him in for a kiss. It was deeper than the kisses they shared earlier, and wetter. Steve licked at Tony’s lips, then nibbled on the lower one, and when Tony nudged his own tongue out, he teased it gently. Tony made a small sound, and Steve pressed on. He led Tony to the bed, then, at the last minute, he pulled back.

"Naked, on your stomach. Might want to spread down a towel unless you feel like changing the sheets after." Steve offered, already moving to take his shoes off. Tony pulled a face.

"Really? You care about the bed covers at a time like this?" He asked even as he tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. A chuckle came from Steve’s direction and he turned to look at him, pulling his fingers through his own hair to try and put it back in order.

"Well, if you won’t do it, I’m gonna have to do it, and I’d prefer to just go to sleep after." Ever practical, Steve explained himself without hesitation as he pulled down his pants zipper and shoved them off over his hips, and then left them on a chair off to the side. Next, he took off his shirt and set it neatly over his pants. Tony was still watching him, bemused.

"Tell a guy you love him." He huffed, “Next you know, you’re an old married couple, doing it missionary with the lights out." And it wasn’t exactly a complaint, but Tony really didn’t seem all too happy about the element of planning Steve had just added to this, so Steve walked over, clad in only his boxer-briefs now.

"We’re not doing it missionary." Steve retorted fondly. “That’s what we need the towel for." He added, running his fingers along Tony’s cheek. “I’m gonna spread you on your stomach and take you from behind and Tony," he paused, raising one eyebrow in a manner he hoped was more of a request for permission than anything else, he didn’t miss the gasp from Tony at that explanation, “I’m gonna go without, this time." And if the way Tony’s eyes closed, the way his lips slightly parted and his body went a little too still - like he was trying to hide a shudder - were any indication, Tony liked this idea enough to not mind Steve’s request.

"I get the towel, you get the lube." Was all Tony said to that, as soon as his voice was steady enough, Steve guessed, and he nodded his head in response. On his way to get the towel, Tony shed the rest of his clothes, not much caring where any of the items ended up. He walked back to the bed and spread a luxuriously thick, soft towel over the bed. When Steve glanced at him in question, he shrugged. “Might as well make it comfortable." Steve was definitely not complaining. He stood back and appreciated Tony’s graceful movements as he crawled on the bed and settled comfortably over it, face set sideways and arms folded under his cheek. He glanced at Steve over his shoulder. The way Tony lay like he had no care in the world was mesmerizing. His legs slightly spread, his balls nestled between his thighs. “Gonna stand there all day and watch?" Tony asked, his tone lazy.

"Tempted to." Steve said, crossing his arms and letting the corner of his mouth quirk up. Tony wiggled his ass at him and then rubbed himself over the soft material of the towel he’d found. His eyes closed and he hummed, as though to say he was going to start without Steve. A notion Steve didn’t object to, specifically, but he did want to get himself inside Tony. First, because finally they’d be going without any barrier between them - they’d run the tests a while back, but the results hadn’t arrived until a couple of days ago, and besides, they still had some condoms to spare. The second reason was that sex was a wonderful escape from bad memories and thoughts. By putting his mind into giving Tony pleasure, Steve could get rid of the last of his dissolving, unpleasant memories. He pushed his underwear down and off his body, then set them aside. Fully naked, and already half hard, he propped a knee between Tony’s legs. “Lights to 30 percent." He muttered as he did.

"That’s more like it." Tony murmured in satisfaction when Steve lined their bodies together, pressing his front to Tony’s back from shoulder to ass, his dick resting cradled against one of Tony’s ass-cheeks. Steve kissed along the back of Tony’s neck, from his hairline and down his spine, then down to one side along a shoulder. He nibbled on the skin there, then buried his face in the crook of Tony’s neck and shoulder. He pressed more firmly against Tony.

"Do you want it?" He asked, a simple request. He wasn’t big on assuming, and he liked asking this to be sure. Besides, having his partner tell him he wanted to have Steve do this was infinitely arousing for him. Tony nodded his head, but Steve licked along the shell of his ear, then nibbled on the edge of it. “Say it, Tony."

"And you dare call me kink-master…" Tony huffed, wiggling his ass against Steve’s groin, making him grow harder. Steve let out a small laugh but waited patiently. “Yes, I want it Steve. Could you maybe put that nice dick of yours in me any time soon?" He requested. And in all honesty, there was not enough foreplay. They were both fairly hard by now, though the mood had not been set, but it was getting there. Steve enjoyed the feeling of Tony’s smooth skin, warm and stretched over slim yet surprisingly built back muscles. He rubbed his cock between Tony’s cheeks, teasing him with the slow, hot drag of it. Tony had asked him so very nicely, he thought, and Steve wanted so badly to finally feel it, intimate and only theirs. He’d never gone without before with anyone else.

"Okay." Steve said, letting his breath wash over Tony’s ear, and this time there was no way Tony could hide the way he shivered with anticipation, the way he parted his legs just a bit more, the hitch in his breath. Steve kissed down Tony’s neck again, between his shoulder-blades, lower towards the middle of his back as he reached for the bottle of lube he’d left on the bed just a couple of moments earlier. After squeezing a fair amount on his hand, he put the bottle aside in easy reach, just in case, and ran his slick hand over himself. It felt so different to how doing this over a condom did. Wet and cool and just right. He held his breath, making sure he was completely coated, and then let go of himself and reached down, running his wet fingers along the line between Tony’s ass-cheeks. Tony let out a relieved sigh. “Need my fingers?" Steve offered in a low whisper, fingertips teasing at Tony’s hole. A groan fell from Tony’s lips at the tease, but he gave a slight shake of the head.

"Nah… Just go for it." He said, bending his knees a bit to give Steve better access. Steve hummed in response, reached down with his clean hand to pull one of Tony’s cheeks aside as he pressed the head of his cock to Tony’s body.

"You sure?"

"Ste-" Tony’s breath hitched again when Steve started pushing in, slow, careful, ever so gentle. "….ve" he let out on a sigh after Steve had finally managed to press into him. The slide was different than any other time Steve could remember. It felt so good. There was wetness to their slide against one another, and the texture of Tony’s insides as it clamped around him snugly was maddening, and it so willingly let him inside. He only let out his breath once he was fully inside. Once this was accomplished, he laid down again, sliding his hands under Tony’s arms and up to his shoulders and held on. They were pressed tight together from shoulder to hip, and Steve was buried so impossibly deep inside Tony. Everything was still as the both of them took a moment to get themselves under control.

"You feel so good around me Tony… I want to stay like this forever." Steve muttered next to Tony’s ear, and it made him clench ever so deliciously tighter around him. Tony pressed slightly back, taking as much of Steve as he possibly could.

"We’ll see about… forever… Could you move?" Tony urged, obviously needing motion to ground himself. Even though he had at some point gone without protection in his less-than-brilliant past, it was a long time ago, and he was not accustomed to this sensation, that much was clear. Steve knew they were lucky they both checked out clean, but decided not to dwell on that as he hummed an affirmative and started moving. The motion was impossibly smooth and slow, real in a way he’d never felt before save for when he took care of himself. Every motion was deliberate, and at some point he realized Tony was breathing in time with each return, each exhale carrying with it a needful sound.

Using his grip on Tony’s shoulders, Steve started going faster. He saw Tony’s hands clenching in the covers, and he wanted to ask, but Tony was moving beautifully against him, urging him to go faster, harder. There was little chance of this lasting long for him, but he decided to hold out as much as he could. “If you need a hand, you better let go of the covers." Steve told Tony between labored breaths next to his ear. “I’ve got my hands full." And it took several moments before Tony seemed to grasp what he’d meant and reached down for himself. Tony’s hips lifted to accommodate his hand, and that instantly made the position so much better. Steve let go of Tony’s shoulders in favor of keeping Tony at that angle as he fucked into him.

"St-Steve…" Tony said, tugging at himself, eyes closed. “Steve when you-" a moan fell from his lips at a particularly nice angle of penetration. “When you… could you…" He spread the palm of his free hand on the covers, “in me?"

"Sure. Anything you want, Tony." Steve said, and it sounded like a promise. A smile returned to Tony’s face, and then he bit his lower lip. Something changed in how he was handling himself, and Steve realized Tony too was not going to last long. It was just as well. For several moments they moved in relative quiet, or rather, Steve moved and Tony enjoyed the ride. And then Steve leaned in again, nibbling on Tony’s neck. “God, I love your ass, Tony. I love you so much. This is so hot." Which was apparently exactly what Tony needed to hear right then, because the next moment he was gone, letting out a series of pleased cries as he did what he could to force himself back against Steve’s relentless pace. Steve took a total of ten seconds after that to climax, too. He muffled the sounds that wanted out against Tony’s skin as his hips jerked, moved more sharply than before, all that while the knowledge that he was coating Tony’s insides sat, burning bright and brilliant in his head.

Neither of them spoke, as Steve let go of Tony’s hips and let him settle on the bed. When finally he decided to pull out, Tony’s hand came up backwards and landed on the juncture between Steve’s ass and thigh and gripped. “Not yet. Stay a while." He requested, and Steve hesitantly let his weight rest a little bit more on Tony’s body.

"Won’t I crush you?" He asked, and the hand at his ass squeezed again.

"No matter. Stay a while." Tony repeated. Steve couldn’t really resist such a request. He felt so sated and good, and Tony’s body was limp and relaxed under him, and he looked gloriously satisfied.

"Okay. I will" He said, kissing Tony’s cheek and then nuzzling his neck fondly.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the main reason for this semi-epilogue is to give more information about Steve’s past and mention some other character related issues I wanted to clear up. Since the style is different, it’s not a natural next chapter. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the bittersweetness of if. This piece was only beta-read by myself, so if there’s any mistakes, I apologize.
> 
> Don’t forget, if you want to see a scene or anything else happening in this AU, do send me a [request](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask) to my [askbox](http://morphia-writes.tumblr.com/ask).

 

Epilogue 1

It’s several days later. They haven’t discussed the issue at all since that evening, and they set to meet after work at their favorite diner for dinner to talk about it. They’re not avoiding making dinner at home, but maybe they are, a little. Steve gets there a bit late, sidesteps the paparazzi lurking outside without sparing a moment as he approaches the table Tony’d taken up for them. He doesn’t hesitate, and leans over to kiss Tony’s cheek. “Sorry I’m late.” He says, Tony waves a hand dismissively. Well, that’s promising.

They’d made a promise, shortly after their heated session in bed, that they would take an evening and share all the those pesky secrets in detail. They’re not really secrets, they both know that much. They’re just old wounds neither of them particularly enjoys picking at if avoidable - which it is not, in this case.

"So what will it be?" Tony asks casually, though Steve knows he already ordered their favorite burgers. He’s truly a performing artist, Steve thinks as he watches him. Sitting across from him, looking casual to unsuspecting onlookers. He’s holding a menu and skimming over it, but Steve knows he’s not even seeing the words.

"The usual," Steve says with a tilt of his head, "unless you already ordered, and then-" he snatches the menu from Tony’s hand as he sits down, and all the facade breaks apart for a second when Tony’s balance is thrown sideways. His lips fall parted in surprise and he stares at Steve uncertainly as he turns the menu towards himself, watching Tony from the corner of his eye the whole time. "What’s today’s special?" He asks, making a small show of it, but it’s quiet enough that only Tony can appreciate it. And then it’s back. Tony’s good on the uptake, Steve knows that, too. The menu is snatched back and Tony clears his throat.

"I already ordered. D’you wanna see something cool?" Tony says, brushes through the food discussion, and Steve simply nods, leans a bit forward to see. Tony reaches into his jacket’s pocket and pulls out a small device. Steve would think it’s a memory stick, but he knows Tony doesn’t find those cool at all. It’s oblong, sleek black with a lone silver line running along its edges, an inch and a half long, half an inch wide and a quarter inch tall, and when Tony sets it on the table, Steve sees a small circle etched at the top. “Neat, isn’t it?” Tony says as Steve stares at the device, trying to figure out what it does. When Steve looks up to meet Tony’s eyes with a question mark practically written all over his face, Tony sighs and gestures to the thing. “Push the button.” So Steve does. He hadn’t realized it even  _was_  a button until Tony said that.

the button gives very slightly, and a small white led lights one edge of the device. Steve thinks  _A flashlight?_  but then the silver lining does something strange, slides up on one end and down on the other, bringing the device into a weird angle. Steve waits for something to happen. And waits. The silence remains undisturbed, the device doesn’t move again. He looks up to Tony again for explanation.

"Sound dampener, Doc." Tony says, exasperated. Of course Steve can’t devise what the thing does if he wasn’t there when it was being created, Steve hopes Tony understands that as he looks back to the black thing. "Head butler hinted that some of the paparazzi may or may not have been hiding mics in our vicinity, and I don’t like eavesdropping." He says dismissively. "I made it last night. Took four hours but it works."

"And what are they hearing now?" Steve asks, raising an eyebrow at Tony, who smirks back.

"Remember what happened last night  _before_  I went back to the shop?”

"You wouldn’t!" Steve says, outraged when he realizes what Tony is referring to.

"Nah, not really." Tony says, amused. "But it was worth saying that just to see that expression on your face." Steve rolls his eyes, instantly relieved, but says nothing. "But no, they’re actually getting an earful of AC/DC in full volume about now." Tony assures him. Steve nods his head once.

"So we can talk about anything and they won’t hear." Steve articulates, and it’s Tony’s turn to nod his head. Steve reaches across the table and wraps his fingers over Tony’s bicep. "Thank you." He says, smiling.

"That’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever thanked me for." Tony says, but he’s smiling back, and their meals arrive, propped on a tray. The waitress distributes the food and leaves without comment, and Steve feels Tony’s leg nudging against his own. "So how’s work?"

"Normal." Steve says, reaching for his plate. "Mostly routine checkups." He says, then glances at Tony. "Yours?"

"Paperwork for the most part." Steve winces sympathetically, and Tony’s ankle slides against his own. "Pepper’s upset I’m still pushing back the deadline on the prototype for the starkphone, so I get to sign all those boring forms instead of tinkering. She’ll come around." He says, and grabs his burger. "Now if you don’t mind, I’m starved." He says and starts eating. Their legs don’t part for the entire time it takes for them to eat. When they’re done, Steve sips from his orange juice, watching Tony for a moment before setting the glass down. "You don’t have to do this here." Tony says before Steve can say anything, and Steve shakes his head.

"It’s not a problem, Tony. I need a visual trigger to get a flashback. The worst I could get is a panic attack, but I’ve got you to help me in case that happens," he pauses, looks to Tony, "right?" And Tony reaches over, grabs his hand over the table.

"Yes. I’m here." He says, "But I don’t know how to help if it happens." And he sounds regretful, frustrated. Steve squeezes his hand back.

"It shouldn’t be too different to how you helped me the other day. Just be here to ground me and tell me to breathe and we should be fine." Steve reassures him, and Tony nods his head once, though he still looks skeptical. Steve decides to just take this forward and let things happen as they will. "I met Peggy when I was in boot-camp. She was…" He trails off, thinks about her brilliance, her fierce attention to detail, her relentless quest to prove she was as good as she knew she was. "Brilliant. Not only beautiful, but a fierce leader. She supervised our training. I was this tiny poor man, with no relatives to speak of and nothing to offer a woman of her stature." Tony’s eyes are set on him, but Steve is looking at where their hands are connected. "I never understood why she even gave me the time of day, but I was so awestruck, I never asked."

"A shame." Tony interjects, then sips from his coffee. Steve nods his head, then continues.

"Yeah. And she taught me how to fight, helped me build my muscle mass, cardio. She was there for me and she saw me through some tough times." He doesn’t add that he was there for her, too. "After basic training, she joined our unit. She advanced in ranks as we did, went to missions she’d helped create. She did everything." He pauses, swallows hard, "Up until that fragmentation mine exploded right before her." He manages.

"How did that happen?" Tony asks, urges gently.

"It was a simple assault mission. Go in, take out the people on site, secure the perimeter, report to base. Recon never caught on to the landmines around the place - they never got close enough to find the tripwires." Steve explains. "So we walked into the field completely blind. And someone found one of those with his foot. She was standing right next to him when it went off. It was a massive explosion, and debris were flying everywhere. We only found out later that it was a fragmentation mine. You’re familiar with those." And he says that factually, doesn’t mean anything mean by it, but he can tell it stings by the way Tony’s eyes wander away from him. He sighs. "That wasn’t a jab at you, by the way." He says, and Tony chuckles.

"I know, but it still sucks to be that guy." He says, and Steve laces their fingers together, decides to carry on with his story for now.

"We lost three men on the spot, most of the force got various degrees of injury." He says, then gestures to his chest and arm. "The scars you’re always so curious about? That’s where I got them. I was lucky because I was relatively behind, helping the guy with the radio gear, so while the shrapnel did penetrate my vest, it didn’t get too far in." He explains, and Tony waits, doesn’t ask what Steve knows he’s dying to ask. "She didn’t die on the spot. In hindsight, maybe she would’ve been better off to have died then and there. We didn’t have enough medical staff with us, so they had to take care of people by priority, and they didn’t have any way to get the pieces out of her chest on the field." Steve takes a deep breath, then another. "They patched her up as best as they could, but four days later, the pieces reached her lungs and heart. It was inevitable."

"It would never have happened if I hadn’t let the pressure deter my decision." Tony says, his tone tight. He’s holding onto a fork with his free hand, and when Steve looks at him, he wonders if he shouldn’t have waited until they were home to tell him about this. "Did you… Did she… Was there time for goodbyes?" Tony asks after a moment, seemingly back in control over himself. Steve nods his head.

"Yeah, we knew it was coming. By the time she passed away, we’d lost half the force. There wasn’t much hope for her."

"And how did you get away from there? Weren’t the enemy forces coming for you?"

"They were, but for some reason they sent a small crew to check, first. We wiped them out and in the time it took them to send more people, we’d already cleared the area." Steve considers what else to say, then adds, "We were all taken off duty after that, most of us for extensive mental treatments, others for physical reasons."

"One Fragmentation mine." Tony says, awed and terrified at once. "Took out an entire force… How many people were you?"

"Around thirty, a bit more with the medics."

"Fifteen people out of thirty…" Tony shakes his head. "I know that’s what it does, I designed it to do this, but I never thought…"

"Tony…"

"How many of our men did my weapons kill? How many innocent people who had nothing to do with war got killed by my weapons?" Tony asks needlessly. Steve squeezes his hand again, and doesn’t say anything for a long moment.

Steve doesn’t tell Tony any more. Not about the screams, not about the darkness and the confusion. Doesn’t tell him there weren’t enough strong painkillers, so some people had to go without. Doesn’t tell Tony that Peggy was so brave, so stoic and coherent even when pain was literally tearing her apart. He spares him these details, knows they’re too painful to hear, a knowledge too heavy to carry. He pulls Tony’s hand up and kisses it. “You know, I decided to be a vet when I was still in the hospital.” He says quietly, looking at Tony’s face again. “I wasn’t showing much progress and my doctor was worried, but one day they took us on a field trip, me and a couple of other guys. They called it volunteer, but they really only wanted to clean our rooms without us there to bug them.

"We went to this pound, and I was put in charge of a corgi and her pups. For the first time since the incident, I felt something. There was a good emotion in me. It was massive progress for me at the time." He runs his thumb over the back of Tony’s hand as he speaks, tilts his head. "She looked at me with such adoration - and she’d only just met me, imagine that! Her name was Suzie. Once my doc got wind of this, I was assigned a weekly visit at the pound, and by that point I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life working with animals." He finishes on a proud note, and he doesn’t feel in the least bit baffled by that emotion. What has happened to him had shaped him to be who he is, and Tony loves him this way - how can he resent anything that’s happened? Even if had been horrible at the time. Tony stares at him, looks baffled by the positive air with which Steve finished telling his tale, and then he smiles, wide and private and genuine and Steve kisses his hand again.

~~~

They order dessert and Tony looks up corgis in his phone. He has to fight the urge to tell Steve he wants to get one, and shoves a spoonful of whipped cream in his mouth instead. Steve laughs and turns to taste the cake. The cream is not enough, and once Tony’s done with his mouthful he says “I want one,” making Steve laugh again, and isn’t that a great achievement, considering the heavy story he’d just heard - the story Steve had had to tell, he reminds himself.

Steve stays politely quiet, but Tony knows it’s his turn to cough up personal stories. He doesn’t know what to tell him and what to leave for another time, or where to even start. Eventually, he decides to start with alcoholism. “I’m an alcoholic.” He says, tapping a nervous rhythm on the table. Steve’s expression is unreadable and Tony sometimes hates that he can’t read the guy at all. It’s so obvious Steve reads him like a book, no matter how much he tries to hide how he’s feeling, it’s just not fair. “Been more or less clean for over five years now. I drink very rarely these days, but back then it was bad. I’ve told you I did things I’m not proud of, well, most of them were under the influence.”

"I knew you had a thing with alcohol… You told me about it when I asked about the empty liquor cabinets in the media room." Steve says, not unkindly. Tony gives him a winning smile.

"You knew I had a thing, but let me tell you how bad it was. It was so bad that some days, after drinking a bit all day, I ended up drinking myself to sleep, and I would wake up hungover, and I would drink to make it go away." He says, and Steve’s eyebrows are high up in a mixed worry and awe.

"What about your poor liver?"

"Trust me, you’re not the only one amazed that I still have a functioning body after all the stuff I put it through." Tony says with a rueful smile. He eats some of the cake in silence, then lowers his head. "I didn’t cry at my parents’ funeral." He admits quietly, "My mother was distant, my dad was worse. I don’t want to say much more about that right now, but I thought you should know." He says it in a rush and doesn’t look at Steve, fears what he might see in his face. "They weren’t exactly role-model parents and we weren’t close." He says, as though it’s an apology of sorts. Steve only hums from across the table. Tempted to look, Tony raises his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing." Steve answers, taking another bite. "Just curious. It’s interesting that you told me these two pieces of information together, it almost seems related." He says. Tony contemplates this, watches Steve carefully before replying.

"At AA they said it was obviously Howard’s fault. For pretty much the same reason." He says, setting down his spoon. There’s little left of the cake, but Steve seems to be handling it well by himself, and Tony’s quite full. "I think I told you pretty much everything else that’s really interesting." He says after a long moment’s pause, and Steve hums again to mark that he heard.

The dessert is gone, Tony insists he should pay the bill, and Steve lets him. They head out together. Camera flashes flare around them, a few hopeful reporters try to ask them questions, but after a couple of months of no response from the two, the reporters are starting to get tired of trying, and usually turn to writing near slander in the newspaper. Steve doesn’t seem to care, Tony definitely doesn’t care. They walk next to each other at an easy pace, and Tony thinks, for a terrifying moment, that he wishes he could spend the rest of his life by this man’s side. Steve glances at him, clueless, smiling that damned infatuating smile of his, and Tony finds himself smiling back before he’s made a conscious decision to do so.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few years into Steve and Tony’s marriage, Clint Barton, the city’s #1 stray-animal-catcher, catches a dog he won’t let anyone adopt but Cap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. It’s pointless and full of painless fluff. And most important- It is THE END of this fanfic. I will be posting more drabbles and other related ficlets in this AU, but if you want the full, basic story, this is it. We’re done here. ENJOY~

 

 

Epilogue 2

The phone rang. For all Tony could tell, it had been doing that for the last year. He wasn’t going to move, though. Steve was warm and nice, arms wrapped snugly around him, chin tucked over his head as Tony’s nose nestled against the man’s neck.  _Let the phone ring_ , he thought sleepily.

Over the years, Steve had grown into a deep sleeper, and Tony always did the best he could to not wake him, if possible, but there was one thing Steve would always jolt awake for. Peter, already grown out into his full size, yet still not obese, entered the room and issued one quiet good morning ‘meow’. “Woah wha-” Steve exclaimed, pulling back and up to a sitting position. Tony rolled onto his back in dismay, but tried not to pout. “Peter!” Steve said, smiling at the cat and sliding out of the bed to pat him.

"Good morning to you too, darling." Tony muttered, covering his eyes with his arm. "You know it’s Sunday and he can wait until we  _want_  to get out of bed to be needy.” He retorted. The phone started ringing again before Steve could answer either statement, and it was apparently Steve’s phone, Tony finally realized. Mornings were not his thing.

"Dr. Rogers." Steve answered his phone as he leaned over the bed to peck Tony’s lips lightly. He straightened up soon after. "What do you mean gone rogue, Fury? Slow down…" He requested, sitting down on the bed’s edge. "Well put him through, then." He said, shoving a hand unceremoniously into his pajama pants to arrange himself in his underwear. He stifled a yawn, on the end of which he tried to say ‘Hello, Barton.’ but all that came out was "Heo Va-ton." He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hello, Barton, how can I help you?"

~

"It has to be you, Cap." Clint had said when Steve took his call. "I’m not giving this babydoll to anyone else. If you don’t take her in, she’s got nowhere to go." It was not a fair thing to say, and Steve was usually not susceptible to emotional blackmail, but this was Clint Barton, city’s best stray cats and dogs catcher and part-time freeloader at Steve’s place at some point in the distant past. They were friends, and Barton knew him well. He wouldn’t dump something or someone on him he wasn’t a hundred percent sure would be the best arrangement for all sides. Of course, Clint never took Tony into consideration, even though he’d been to their wedding, and their anniversary celebration every year since.

"We’ll see about that." Steve said after a moment’s contemplation and a glance over at Tony. "Bring her to the clinic in three hours. How old is she?" He went quiet, then nodded his head once. "We’ll see." He repeated. "Just be there." And he hung up before glancing over to Tony, who was currently lying with his back to Steve, clutching onto the blanket and feigning sleep. "Tony."

"No."

"Tony…"

"No, Steve. This is my Sunday and I won’t let it get ruined by your weird city council friends."

"Clint Barton is a brave man, Tony. He’s not weird."

"He goes to bow and arrow ranges in his free time, Steve. He’s weird as balls." Tony insisted, but when Steve pulled his shoulder, he let himself be turned over onto his back, and looked back to his husband. "What did he want, anyway? It’s-" He glanced at the bedside table. "Jarvis, time. It’s eleven in the morning! Blasphemous time to wake people up on a Sunday."

"There’s someone he wants us to meet." Steve said patiently. Tony closed his eyes and pressed his head into the pillow.

"Us? I have to go, too?"

"Yes, as I said. Someone we need to meet."

"Person or animal?"

"Why don’t you find out when we get there? I’ll scrub your back, come on." Steve said, walking around the bed and holding onto Tony’s hands. He dragged him up to a standing position and kissed him briefly. For a moment, Tony gave him his trademark petulant glare, which looked quite displaced on his face despite it all, and then he sighed. Steve knew it was impossible for Tony to deny him things he was intent on doing, and it seemed Tony didn’t mind it so much that he was going to fight about it, so he let Steve drag him to the shower.

~

She was three months old, had blue eyes, her fur mostly a muddy shade of brown, with a white patch that stretched neatly down her nose and along her cheeks, down to her chest and paws. She was a Border Collie, Steve’s secret favorite breed, and she was so friendly it was heartbreaking. Clint gave Steve a self-satisfied look when Tony, as opposed to Steve’s expectations, started fawning all over the poor soul.

"-and a white patch at the tip of her tail are you kidding me? Steve, we’re taking her." Tony was saying, and Steve sighed, wanting to sound exasperated, but the smile that crept to his face was telling.

"Will you two move back and let me examine her, first? What did you say happened to her?" Steve shooed Clint and Tony a short distance back and started a routine checkup. No ear-bugs, no heart rustling, clean, well maintained fur. Something was off. Steve turned to look at Clint when no words came. "Clint."

"Nothing  _happened_  happened. Just…” Clint said eventually, reaching up to scratch the side of his head. “Good friend of mine was looking for good homes for her dog’s pups, and this babydoll was the last one, and that friend was starting to look into options none of us want to think about.” He reached that hand to pat Steve’s shoulder once. “And I thought, might as well try, right? I mean, you love dogs, you really love this breed, and she’s a heart-breaker if you ever saw one.” He patted the dog, who whined happily and tried to lick his palm.

"I’m married to a cat-guy, did you think about that?" Steve asked, though there wasn’t much disdain in his tone, because Tony was currently back to patting the dog and telling her about his new hover-technology at length.

"He’s not complaining, is he? It’s a score. I knew he’d be sold the moment he saw her." Clint said, grinning cheekily at Tony, who glanced up towards him.

"Your cunning knows no bounds, Barton. I told you he’s weird." Tony said, his gaze turning to Steve. "But we’re definitely keeping her, if you don’t mind." He was patting the dog, and she was leaning into his hand every time it came back to the top of her head.

"She’ll need exercise, potty training, walks, showers…" Steve wanted to take the dog, of course he did, but a dog was a responsibility far greater than keeping a cat had ever been. "She’ll be lonely at home all day, even with Peter for company. You know he’s not as playful as he used to be." He said, looking to the dog, then to Tony. Clint took a couple of steps back and leaned against the far wall.

"So you’ll just leave her to her fate?" Tony asked, glancing at Steve, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Or are you saying I’m not enough of an adult to know these things already?" He relented when Steve didn’t answer. "Why do you think we haven’t taken in a dog yet? It’s not because you don’t want one, let me tell you that. And it’s not because I’m against it, either." He turned to the dog and patted her fondly. "It’s because we weren’t ready for it, and now… I think we are, aren’t we, Peggy?"

It was a done deal then and there, even without looking, Steve knew Clint was smirking in his corner. He let out a long suffering sigh, but then smiled. “Don’t ever tell me I didn’t try to warn you.” Steve relented at last, moving closer to Tony and patting the dog as well. “Now let’s get her vaccinated and then we can take her home to meet Peter.” He said as Tony leaned into him.


	27. Lonely Genius, Stray Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony lives alone in a big, lonely mansion. One day, a cat struts into his garden.  
> Basically, a prequel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I wrote a prequel to vet-au because it needed to be done. 
> 
> I dedicate this to [sex-pickl22](http://sex-pickle22.tumblr.com/), who requested a lonely-Tony-meets-A-stray-cat fanfic, and who agreed for it to be a prequel to vet-au. This is in loving memory of his cat, who passed away a while ago. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony Stark had everything. Or, well, that’s what the newspapers always said. It’s been years since he felt the part. He had money, sure. He had class, certainly. And he was a genius, which was not the natural assumption about a guy of his stature, but that’s how it was. He made weapons, although it’s been a long time since that kind of work had given him any satisfaction. He had a beautiful secretary without whom he was sure to crash and burn. She rejected his advances politely but firmly when he’d, for a short while, thought they would be perfect for one another.

 

He lived in his parents’ mansion, mostly for practical reasons. New York was where things were at, and if doing what he did best and keeping his company alive required he grind his teeth and stick around the lonesome, memory-ridden estate, then so be it. His parents have been gone for many years, now, and it’s not like anyone came to visit him at the house. Pepper rarely came by unless she needed something. Rhodey, Tony’s best friend, had been assigned a long term overseas position, and could barely even spare the time to talk to him on the phone. Tony found himself at the company’s facilities every day, if only to alleviate the loneliness a tad. It’s not that he would actually work  _with_  anyone when he was there, but at least there were people around, and he didn’t get the sense that his father would walk in the door at any given moment to give him a lecture. He could keep it to himself all he wanted, but he knew he had to get out of the empty house every day to avoid the haunting memories.

Despite it all, there were things Tony did around the place out of sheer respect. He didn’t do these things in his parents’ memory but in Jarvis’s. Jarvis had made Tony’s life bearable when he couldn’t think of how to make them so himself. He’d made Tony’s favorite comfort food when he most needed it, and rooted for him when he faced difficult times. Jarvis had taught him how to maintain the place, even though Howard had always dismissed it as irrelevant knowledge. Tony wanted to know, so Jarvis taught him. So that gave Tony some routine to stick to even at the worst of times, kept his mind off the alcohol, helped clear his mind of dark thoughts during the long weekends. He used to fill such times with endless partying, one-night-stands and as much alcohol as he could consume without killing himself. Those days were long gone.

He’d spent a couple of months in that mansion, alone, before he finally decided to install Jarvis, the AI version, in the entire place. Up until that time, he only had him installed in the workshop and his phone. It made things a bit easier. Still, alive as Tony had seen Jarvis, and as human as he believed he was, Jarvis was a mass-less, body-less entity. He could help with words, he could comfort to some degree and reassure Tony when he was feeling alone, but there was no warmth to be had, no actual, physical interaction.

~

A pretty, bony but very round black cat appeared in the yard one day. Tony saw her a few times on the security cameras, but when he went to do his usual gardening, she was nowhere to be found. Tony had no idea how to handle cats, or even how to approach them, but according to the internet, it wasn’t likely that a stray cat would trust him. The internet had also suggested that the cat was pregnant, a fact Jarvis confirmed later on. With Jarvis’ advice, Tony decided to leave some food for the cat. He watched, intrigued, through the monitors in his workshop, as the cat approached the food with care, tasted it nervously, then dove in and ate. Soon after, she disappeared again into the bushes along the edge of the garden.

A week passed. And then, one day, as Tony was tinkering with a new shell design, Jarvis pinged his phone, letting him know that the cat had gone through labor, and that when he was to come home, he should expect to find the three surviving kittens in his yard. Apparently there had been five, but one had been born dead, and another passed away before the labor was done. The first urge Tony got was to let go of everything and go home to see the new creatures in his garden, but he knew Pepper would not accept that as a valid excuse to clock out early, and besides, he was so close to finishing this project, he didn’t want to stop.

"Talk to me, J. Describe them." Tony demanded, pushing a piece of equipment out of the way in search of the right screwdriver.

"I could show you, sir." Jarvis offered, but Tony shook his head.

"Nah, I need to look at this. Besides, if you show me, I’ll end up going over there right now." Tony chuckled, then lifted a pile of papers, where the screwdriver lay, harmlessly waiting to be found. Tony grabbed it and turned to work.

"Well, labor began an hour ago. The three healthy newborns came first, followed shortly by the dead one, and the last one took another fifteen minutes to come out." Jarvis said easily, bringing up schematics for the device Tony was working on just as Tony lifted his head to look. "The first one is white, the second is black and white, and the last one is black. The remaining two were various combinations of gray."

"Were?" Tony hummed absently as he unscrewed the cover on one side.

"I believe you will see when you get home."

"And the mother?" Tony asked, accepting Jarvis’ deflection for now. He lifted the cover panel and reached for a plier.

"She is well."

"Good. Thank you, Jarvis."

"Anytime, Sir."

~

The kittens were tiny. Tony had to fight the urge to come out and look at them up close. “They look like squirming sausages.” Tony spoke softly, even though no one would be in earshot other than Jarvis. “Are you sure they’re alright?”

"Sir, the shelter you constructed for the cat is quite sturdy, and the heaters are working well. The sensors indicate all vitals are well within normal standards." Jarvis said, his tone slightly exasperated. "Perhaps you should go see for yourself."

"Didn’t you say it’ll scare her away?" there was hope in Tony’s voice, but his eyes remained glued to the screen, where mama-cat was licking one of the kittens.

"I most certainly did say that, sir." Jarvis confirmed. "For now, perhaps you should concentrate on feeding."

"I guess." Tony said, pulling a face. "Well. I’m gonna get dinner. Let me know if the coast is clear."

"Very well, sir. Dinner is waiting in the kitchen." Jarvis said. When Tony arrived at the kitchen, he added, "I’ve taken the liberty of adding specialized cat-food to your grocery-list."

"I’m sure she’ll appreciate that." Tony said as he sat down to eat.

~

Tony’s routine revolved around the cat, and he wasn’t even ashamed of that anymore. He’d roll out of bed and grab for his first coffee, then go out to breathe the morning air in his garden. He’d leave some food out, go and sneak a peek into the cat-shelter he’d set up, and then he’d go back indoors, where he’d sit at his kitchen table and watch the cat approach her nest nervously, then turn to eat.

He resumed his habit of working at his workshop at home, a fact that both pleased Pepper and increased the frequency of her visits. At around lunch, when the mother cat headed off for her noon break, Tony would sneak out again and watch the kittens. Jarvis had pulled up all the most popular kitten-training programs and cat-human interaction guides, which determined that he could touch the kittens for a little while, so long as his smell didn’t take over the overall scent of the nest. The black kitten had been the most affectionate towards him from the get go, or, well, as much as newborn kittens could be anything, really.

For the most part, Tony managed to avoid getting caught by the mama-cat, so things progressed nice and easy. The kittens opened their eyes, and slowly grew louder. They came out to greet Tony when their mother wasn’t around, and would play around in the garden. It was fascinating to watch the mother cat acquaint her young ones with her food - which Jarvis assured him was okay. Even Pepper commented that something had changed in Tony when she came to visit last. She told him he was… what was it?

"Jarvis, would you say I got softer?" He prompted one morning as he watched the live-feed from the nest.

"What ever makes you ask that, sir?" Jarvis asked dully.

"Don’t play coy, you heard Pepper."

"Indeed." Jarvis answered, and after a pause, seemed to decide it was a question that warranted a truthful answer. "According to varying behavior patterns I have been monitoring since my creation, it would be safe to assume you have changed greatly over the course of the past couple of months."

"It was a simple yes or no question, J. Just answer the damn question."

"Yes, sir. You have been caring for a family of cats in your garden. A softer side of you has been revealed." Mockery was no where to be found in Jarvis tone as he said this.

~

Nothing prepared Tony for that morning, only two days later. It had started like any other day, but something felt off, and when Tony arrived at the kitchen for his morning coffee, Jarvis was suspiciously quiet. “Your programming doesn’t allow you to lie.” Tony said after three large gulps of bitter liquid, his voice just loud enough that the hidden microphones would pick it up. “It doesn’t allow you to withhold emergencies, but I’ve specifically left a loophole that allows you to not give me bad news when you think I can’t handle it.” He said. Jarvis remained quiet. “I can handle it. Talk.”

"Sir, it would seem the cats are gone."

Tony was hit by the realization he couldn’t, in fact, handle the news. His grasp on his mug tightened considerably for the fear he might drop it, and he stared at mid-distance for a moment. “All of them?” He forced himself to ask.

"No, sir. The mother seems to have left little Peter behind." Jarvis answered briskly. Tony could breathe again. Not dead, just gone, which wasn’t much better, but at least they weren’t dead. He’d half expected the mother to split the moment the kittens were old enough, but apparently she decided to do it a bit earlier.

"So she took Frosty and Rocky with her…" Tony said, taking another sip of coffee, pausing to think. "Why not take Pete, too, though?"

"There can be several reasons for that, sir." Jarvis said, and when Tony waved his hand in a ‘go on’ gesture, he continued. "There is an 85% chance that Peter has been left behind due to over-handling and excess amount of foreign scent on him."

"So. My fault." Tony amended and closed his eyes. Before Jarvis could say anything more, he continued talking. "Revise grocery list. Add: kitten food. Remove: nursing-cat food."

"Very well, sir."

~

The first few days after the mother had left with Peter’s brothers had been the worst. Peter would whine tirelessly at any moment Tony was out of sight, to the point Tony moved himself outside to sit with him as often as he could. He did most of his code-building and manual design while sitting in a garden chair and watching Peter chase a toy mouse. If it hadn’t been for a deeply rooted prohibition to bring animals into the house, asserted many times in his youth by both his parents, the cat would’ve been brought in doors as soon as his cat family left him. As it was, Tony simply did what he could.

As Peter grew, so did his curiosity. Within a few weeks, Tony could resume working in the workshop for most of the day, while the cat went on neighborhood exploration rounds. The new routine had been set, and had not broken once over several months. Peter showed up for breakfast and afternoon meal. He slept in the nest Tony never had the heart to take away, and spent a lot of time wandering. Until one day he didn’t show up for breakfast.

When afternoon-meal went unattended, Tony became worried. He was aware that he may well just be paranoid, but there was a gnawing sense of wrongness to it that wouldn’t let him concentrate on anything else.

"If you are worried about him, it is advisable that you try and find him." Jarvis prompted as Tony walked back into the house.

"You never said that about mama-cat." Tony said, though he already headed for the main door. He’d had a business meeting at the company’s offices earlier, but he’d set it so he would be home in time to feed Peter. The sudden rain had almost ruined his plans, but he’d made it. Peter didn’t.

"There were signs, there. Peter showed no signs of wanting to leave." Tony paused at the door, narrowed his eyes at the guilty air in Jarvis’ following silence.

"You knew mama-cat was going to leave."

"There was nothing knowing about it would’ve changed."

"Words. Jarvis. There will be words when this is over." Tony warned, then slammed the door in his wake.

~

After an hour of bending to look under cars, under bushes and benches, after one unfortunate encounter with the content of a puddle, sprayed all over Tony courtesy of a speeding car, he found Peter. The poor creature was lying motionless under one of the exterior live-fence that surrounded Stark Mansion, breathing fast and shallow. Tony hit Jarvis’ communication on his phone as he took off his jacket and collected Peter into his arms. “Veterinarian, J. ASAP.”

"Right away, sir." Jarvis said, and then- "Directions are uploaded to your navigation program. ETA: 10 minutes."

"Thanks, J." Tony said, tucking the phone in his pants pocket as he cradled Peter and rushed for his car. "Hang in there, buddy. It’s all gonna be okay, just… Just hang in there."


End file.
